Protecting the Batbrothers
by Dark-angel0301
Summary: Joker decides to kidnap (or tries to) our dear Batboys, but Daddybats is having non of that. He tells the Young Justice to protect Bruce Wayne's children from being kidnapped for ransom. Honestly, that could only end in disaster, heavy on the dis, especially with Robin on some secret mission in Alaska...
1. Protecting the Batbrothers

Disclaimer: Non of this is mine (except the plot), all rights to DC

Age:

Dick: 16

Jason: 15

Tim: 12

Damian: 10

(I don't know if that make sense, but it's important for the sake of the story)

Dick is Robin, Jason is the Red Hood, Tim is Red Robin, but Damian isn't Robin (because Dick is).

Wally knows Dick's identity.


	2. Prolouge

Robin groaned as he sat on the couch, awaiting Batman's arrival. The whole team was assembled and waiting for the monotone voice of the Zeta tube to announce the dark night. "Where is he?", groaned Kid Flash, sitting next to Robin. "I don't know. He should be here any second now." Wally raised his eyebrows. "You said the exact same thing twenty minutes ago!" Robin rolled his eyes. "Then you surely realise, that I have no idea what's taking him so long!" Wally crossed his arms. "But it's so-" He was interrupted by the Zeta tube. "_Recoginezed:_ Batman 02".

"Finally!", cried Wally, jumping off the couch. Robin chuckled and stood up as well, just as the Dark Night himself stepped out of the Zeta tube. "Sorry I'm late, I had some business to attend to." The team gathered around the older man and waited eagerly for him to continue. "I have a mission for all of you, except for Robin." He looked at his protege. "You and I will go to Alaska. I will explain everything later. For the others-" he said, turning his attention back to the team, "I have heard, that the Joker will come after the children of Bruce Wayne to demand ransom, and you will protect them." Robin almost choked and Wally tried to contain his laughter. Batman smiled slightly at his son's shocked face and continued to explain the mission. "The Joker is not to underestimate. He is one of the most dangerous villains I've ever encountered. He is unpredictable, what makes him even more dangerous, but I am sure that all of you together can handle him. Mr. Wayne is on a business trip to Germany and his Butler is currently visiting an friend of his, so you and the children will be alone. If something goes terribly wrong, than you can contact me, but let's just hope everything goes according to plan." Aqualad nodded, but Artemis looked sceptical. "Isn't this a job for the police?" Batman shook his head. "The Joker managed to escape the police almost every time they met and it's too dangerous to risk it, especially now, when the Joker is after the children. The kids are your priority. Protect them at any cost." The team nods. "Good. Go pack your things, you will be staying at Wayne Manor for some time. Robin, stay with me. We have a lot to discuss." Robin waited until everyone exited the room, than he yelled, "What the heck?! Care to explain why the Joker is after us?!" Batman rubbed his temples. "I- well, Bruce Wayne- received a letter this morning." He took a paper out of his cape pocket. "Here." Dick took the letter and opened it.

_My dear Brucy._

_I hope you don't mind sharing your precious money, do you?_

_Well, it honestly doesn't matter whether you do or not, because I will just take it anyw- No! I have an idea!! Hahaha! Why don't you just give me the money?_

_Yes, yes, Brucy, I know. Why would you give me your money? Easy: I will just kidn- No, that's a bad word. I will take your sons for some time, that sounds better, doesn't it? Well, bye bye. See you soon._

_In love, the Joker._

_Hahahahahaha!_

Robin raised his eyebrows. "Brucy?"

"Shut it, Dick." Robin chuckled. "Whatever. I guess we are not going to Alaska?" Batman sighed. "Actually, I do have to go to Alaska, even if I don't like leaving you alone at times like this, but the League decided it. Oh, and you have to be extreme careful not to reveal your identity. It's not like I don't trust the team, but the more know your- and consequently mine- identity, the more people are in danger." Robin rolled his eyes. "I understand, but we can take care of ourselves. We don't need the team to protect us!" Batman scowled. "This is not up for discussion. Not after what happened to Jason." Robin winced slightly, as he remembered his brother's death. "Whatever. This time, no-one will die." Batman looked into Dick's eyes. "I hope so."

**A/N: Soo, the first chapter. What do you think?**


	3. Chapter 1

Dick and his brothers were sitting around the breakfast table, all in a gloomy mood. They didn't need babysitters. "When will they arrive?", asked Jason annoyed, playing with his food. Dick shrugged. "One to two hours. Wally had some troubles at home, something about a blue kangaroo." Tim looked questioningly at his older brother. "A blue kangaroo?" Dick shrugged. "Don't ask me." Damian stabbed his eggs with his fork, almost breaking the plate. "I can take care of myself. I don't need some teenagers to babysit me." Jason nodded. "Exactly! Why does Bruce insist on this?" Dick rubbed his temples. It was just morning and his brothers were already giving him a headache. "You know damn well why Bruce insists on having them here." Jason glared at his plate. Of course he knew. Damian continued to attack his eggs and Dick leaned back in his seat. They continued to eat in silence, until Tim suddenly threw his beacons at Jason, who wasn't expecting that and the food hit him right in the face. Dick groaned and let his head fell into his hands. Great. Jason took a moment to realise what just happened and then he slowly stood up, glaring at Tim. "You little brat! You're so dead!" Tim grinned and ran out of the kitchen, Jason hot on his heels. Damian didn't even look up from his eggs. "Idiots," he muttered. Dick silently agreed. He groaned and ran after his brothers, trying to stop Jason from killing Tim. He heard a loud crash coming from Tim's room. He charged through the door and groaned again at the sight in front of him. Jason was on top of Tim, who had thrown a glass off his nightstand, whilst struggling against his older brother. Dick grabbed Jason and pulled him off Tim and pushed him out of the younger boy's room. He grabbed Jason by his collar and pushed him against the wall. "Get off me, Grayson!" Dick pressed his arm against Jason's chest. "Only if you stop attacking Tim." Jason glared at him as a movement behind Dick cought his eyes. Tim had come out of his room and stuck his tongue out at Jason, then he turned around and ran down the corridor. "You little shit!" Jason head butted Dick who staggered back and ran after Tim. "Jason, stop!", screamed Dick, but his brother was already gone. He sighed and rested his head against the wall. There was no use in trying to stop Jason. Tim just head to look after himself. He headed back to the kitchen, where Damian was waiting for him. "Let me guess, you couldn't do anything." Dick rolled his eyes. "No shit Sherlock." Damian pointed at the forming bump on his forehead. "You might wanna put ice on that."

Two hours later, in which Tim had gotten a bloody nose and Jason a black eye, the doorbell rung.

The Young Justice had arrived.

1/2 hour earlier with the team:

Everybody was seated in the Bio-Ship, ready to go. Wally had solved his blue kangaroo problem and Miss Martian started the ship. Superboy raised his eyebrows at Wally. "So, a blue kangaroo?" Wally blushed. "It was not my fault! I didn't open the portal." Superboy frowned. "Portal?"

"Yes, the kangaroo was from another earth." Conner blinked. "Oh, ok, whatever. So, how do you think this mission will go?" Artemis sighed. "Well, we go up against the Joker, one of the most evil villains in Gotham. The problem is that every other villain we have faced was at least kind of sane, but the Joker is mad. He is unpredictable. We have to be very cautious." Miss Martian nodded. "And the boys are another problem. This is our first mission, where our priority isn't the bad guy, but the civilians. We have to protect them, even if it means letting the Joker get away." Aqualad sighed. "Let's just hope that we are able to do both, capture the Joker and protect the boys." Artemis growled. "If anything happens to them, I will personally rip the Joker apart." Aqualad looked at her questioningly. Artemis shrugged. "I know Richard." "Who?" Artemis face-palmed. "Dick Grayson. His real name is Richard Grayson. He goes to my school. He is a bit weird, but who isn't?" Aqualad nodded. "Does he know who you really are?"

"No, but I guess he's about to find out." "True. Well, I have met some rich kids who aren't really... nice, so let's hope they aren't the typical snobby rich kids." Just then, the Wayne Manor came into view and Aqualad gasped. "Okay, not bragging about a house like that is hard." The mansion was huge. It was hard to believe that only six people lived in there. Megan cloaked the Bio-Ship and landed it next to the mansion. Aqualad stood up and turned to his teammates. "Remember, the boys are our priority. We don't want the Joker to suspect anything, so we go in normal clothes, but keep your weapons ready to strike." A chorus of "yes's" and "ok's" was heard as the team exited the ship. They walked up to the door and rang the bell. They heard crashing inside and looked at each other with raised eyebrows. "Do they have a pet, or something?" Before anyone could answer, the door opened. In front of them stood a boy with raven black hair and crystal blue eyes. "Uh, how can I help you?" Kaldur frowned. "We are here to protect you from the Joker. Hasn't Mr. Wayne told you that?" Dick's eyes grew wide, as he suppressed his laughter. "Your the Young Justice. But you are not wearing yo-" His eyes landed on Artemis. "Artemis?!" She grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. Hi." Kaldur offered Dick his hand, who shook it. "Well, I'm Dick Grayson. Welcome to Wayne Manor." Artemis cleared her throat. "You can't tell anyone our identities." Dick nodded. "Of course. Don't worry, my brothers won't either." He opened the door entirely and let the team enter as another crash was heard from somewhere down the hall. "Do you have a dog or something?", asked Artemis. Dick groaned. "Sort of. JASON, stop doing whatever you're doing!" There was a sound of wood breaking and then a voice called back, "Stop blaming me, that was the demon spawn!" Dick face-palmed and smiled apologetically at the team. "My brothers are cleaning the kitchen, hopefully." He muttered the last part and lead the way toward the kitchen where screams were heard. Once they entered, the team froze at the sight in front of them. Three boys were sitting at the table. The youngest one was glaring at it, ignoring his brothers and occasionally stabbing a fork into the wood. He seemed distant and the team eyed him warily. He was more than just strange. The boy next to him was probably two years older, around 12. He was yelling at the eldest boy, who was yelling right back at him. "Hey!", screamed Dick. The three stopped doing what they were doing at once and stared at Dick. "Guys, this is the Young Justice." The boys waved, then turned back to screaming at each other. Dick frowned and turned his attention back to the team. "You know what, we will do the introductions tomorrow. I bet you are tired after the ride here. Should I show you your rooms?" Aqualad nodded. "That would be nice." He glanced one last time at the still yelling Wayne brothers and followed Dick up the stairs. "So, are your brothers always so..."

"Stupid, idiotic, dumb, without a brain?" Aqualad laughed. "I wanted to say "loud"". Dick shrugged. "That's what I have to deal with every day. Well, it's getting late. If you need something, just ask, I will be in the second room down that corridor. Your rooms are right here." He pointed at five rooms right next to his own.

"Thanks," said Aqualad and Dick smiled. "Tomorrow, I will fully introduce you to my brothers. You should sleep now, or you won't survive the next day, believe me." He turned around and left the heroes to decide for themselves who should sleep in which room.

A/N: So, what do you think?


	4. Chapter 2

Aqualad woke up in a strange room. It took him a second to realise where he was. The Wayne Manor. He rubbed his eyes and got out of bed. He looked at the clock on the wall. The continuous tick, tick had annoyed the crap out of him and he hadn't been able to sleep much. It was six in the morning and Aqualad groaned. The Wayne kids wouldn't be up at a time like that, it was a habit the team had developed. He looked around the room and found a door that led to a bathroom. He quickly showered and dressed in his civilian clothes. He heard a knock on the door. To his surprise, he saw the youngest of the brothers. Aqualad couldn't remember weather he was Tim or Damian. "Breakfast is in twenty minutes. Tell the others." Then he slammed the door in Aqualad's face and left. "Friendly," murmured Kaldur and opened the door again to get his teammates.

The team; a very grumpy Artemis, a excited Megan, a hungry Wally, a disinterested Conner and a tired Kaldur, walked into the kitchen. They were greeted with the smell of bacon and eggs. Artemis groaned. "Why are you up so early?" Jason, who was fighting with Dick over a butter knife, replied, "It's a habit." He suddenly punshed Dick in the face, who let go of the knife and glared at his younger brother. Kaldur looked at the team questioningly, but they just shrugged. He cleared his throat. "Eh, is it normal for you to punch each other in the face?" Damian, who once again was fiddling with a fork, looked up. "Yes." "Oh, ok." Tim, who stood by the stove, asked, "So, who wants bacon? Oh, and Dick, get the blood of your nose."

During breakfast, the Young Justice was introduced to the boys. "The youngest of us is Damian Wayne, the hot head over there is Jason Todd and the little angle is Tim Drake." Dick ruffled Tim's hair, who looked very uncomfortable. Aqualad nodded. "Well, as you probably know, I'm Aqualad, but call me Kaldur. The Martian is Megan and her boyfriend Conner. Then there is Artemis-" he glanced at Dick, "as some of you already know, her boyfriend is Wally, who eats more than an elephant-"

"Hey!"

"Robin couldn't come, because he and Batman are somewhere in Alaska." He frowned as Jason snort and jabbed Dick between the ribs with his elbow. Dick groaned and rubbed his ribs. "Ouch." Damian face-palmed and glared at Jason. "Do you always have to act like a little kid?"

"Shut up, demon spawn!"

"Or what?!"

Tim slammed his fists on the table. "Can we eat now?!" Damian and Jason glared at him. "We don't want your stupid food!" Dick groaned as his brothers went into another round of screaming and yelling. "Would you shut up!", he screamed, steam coming out if his ears (not literally, of course). "And who made you leader?", asked Jason, raising his eyebrows. "Well, I was the first one Bruce adopted."

"But I'm the best fighter!"

"And I'm the smartest!"

"You are twelve, Tim!"

"But my brain is twice the size of yours!"

"And I am the oldest!"

"I'm the best fighter, not you!"

The team watched them like a tennis match. "You think it's always like that?", asked Artemis, as Jason tried to strangle Damian, who threw his plate at him. "Even we don't fight this much."

In the end, Jason had a full plate of eggs in his hair, Damian had a broken nose, Tim was hiding under the table and Dick looked ready to explode. "CAN WE EAT NOW?!"

No one said much, as they ate in an awkward silance. "So," asked Aqualad. "What should we do now?" The brothers grinned at each other. "Gym," they said simuslattely. Kaldur grinned. "You have an own gym?" Dick nodded. "And a swimming pool, a game room, a dungeon-" Megan gasped. "You have a dungeon?"

"Yes-"

"No, we don't have a dungeon," butted Tim in. "Dick just likes to refer to the basement as a dungeon. Just ignore him, we all do." Wally laughed and Dick pouted. "But it looks like a dungeon!" Jason groaned. "Whatever. Can we go to the gym now? I wanna kick Grayson's but." Dick snort. "You can try."

The gym was huge. There were all kind of weapons on the wall and a lot of gymnastic stuff. There was a trapeze and robots. "What are the robots for?" Damian grinned. "If we want to fight against moving target that isn't one of us." Artemis eyed the weapons warily. "Swords? Axes? Bõ-staffs?" Dick smirked. "Bruce insisted that we learn how to defend ourselves." Artemis nodded. "And the trapeze?" A sad look crossed Dick's face. "I- um..." Jason laid a hand on Dick's shoulder. "You should see him up there. He's great." Wally grinned. "Show us." Dick blushed. "I'm not that good." Jason hit him across the head. "Don't be modest, idiot. Just do it." Dick sighed and looked up to the trapeze. "Fine."

He was amazing. Even Wally, who knew about Dick's athletic backstory couldn't close his mouth, as Dick flew threw the air, doing flips and just looking amazing. Dick felt free. There was always the reminder of his parents' death, when he was up there, but the feeling of the wind through his hair and the freedom was worth it.

Megan smiled. "He is a natural." Jason nodded, watching his brother. "Yeah. He is." Miss M. bit her lip nervously. "Um, I have a question. During breakfast, when you were fighting over who is in charge, why didn't Damian said that he was the blood son of Mr. Wayne? I mean, wouldn't that be a good argument?" Jason glanced at Damian. "Family is off-limits." There was a dangerous undertone in his voice and Megan didn't question anymore. She realise that she had hit a nerve. "Sorry."

"It's ok," said Jason sighing. "It's just a touchy subject to all of us."

As Dick finally joined the others on the ground again, Tim high-fived him. "That was awesome!" Dick blushed and looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here. "Where did you learn to do that?", asked Kaldur, looking at him curiously. "Before Bruce took me in, I was traveling with a circus. I learned a lot there." Dick felt sadness come over him, as the images of his parents dead bodys flashed through his mind. Tim patted his back. "Well," the twelve-year-old said, "I don't know about you, but I'd like to spar." The team grinned. "Sure. Didn't Jason say that he wanted to fight Dick?" Jason smirked. "Yes. Do you accept the challenge, Circus freak?"

Dick grabbed a bõ-staff from the wall. "Get ready to lose, Zombie." Jason narrowed his eyes at the nickname. "You didn't." Damian snort. "He did."

"You're dead, Grayson!" He took a knife from the wall and threw it at a laughing Dick, who swiftly ducked, successfully avoiding being impaled. Megan took a sharp breath. "If they continue like that, than we don't have to worry about the Joker, they will have killed each other before he even gets a chance to kidnap anyone." Kaldur nodded. Then he frowned. "Wait, where are they?" The team looked around, slightly panicked. The Wayne brothers were gone. They heard screaming from above and raced up the stairs. Dick and Jason were wrestling, while Damian and Tim tried to get them off each other. "You son of a bitch, I swear I'll kill you," cried Jason, rapidly punching his older brother in the face. Dick grabbed Jason's hand as he took another swing and pulled it back, sending Jason flying. Before he could jump back up, Damian and Tim grabbed his arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. "Calm down, or we will knock you out!" Jason glared at Tim. "Don't you dare, you little brat. You ar-" He was interrupted by Tim, punching him in the temple, successfully knocking him out. "Finally," grumbled Dick, wiping the blood off his face. "So, who wants to watch a movie?" Artemis looked at him incredulously. "What about Jason?"

"What about him?"

Artemis looked at Kaldur for help, who said, "I think what she means is, whether you just want to leave him here, or..." Damian frowned. "What else should we do? This happens every day. He will wake up in a few hours, be pissed at first, but we'll just ignore him- like always- and then everything starts all over again." "Uh, ok?" Dick jumped up and down, impatiently waiting for the others to follow him. "So what movie should we watch?" Tim smirked. "Well, I have found a really interesting one." He took a movie out of a box. "The bat and the bird." (I made that up, so it's not a real movie) Wally burst out laughing. "Wait, there's a movie about Batman and Robin?!" Tim nodded, trying not to grin at Dick's red face. Artemis chuckled. "Well, I'd like to watch it." Dick groaned. "Do we have to?" Damian crossed his arms and smirked. "Why not? Do you have anything against looking it?" Dick glared at him. "No, not at all," he growled through gritted teeth. This was going to be a long night.

A/N: So, I hope you liked it and it wasn't too boring.


	5. Chapter 3

The team didn't expect the four brothers to argued about every little detail in the film. It was quite entertaining.

"The colour is a light blue!"

"No! It's turquoise!"

"Are you blind?! That's green!"

Kaldur once tried to break the fight up, but only received four different glares.

"A bõ-staff would be a much better weapon!"

"No, a sword would be much more affective!"

"Are you dumb? He should use a gun, duh!"

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, demon spawn!"

"I have more experience than all of you together!"

"You are just a little brat!"

"Am not, Zombie boy!"

"Are, too!"

"Am not!"

And this went on through the whole movie.

After the movie, no-one wanted to go to bed just yet, so Megan suggested to play truth or dare. Since it was already late at night and they didn't want to wake anyone in the neighbourhood, they decided that they would play without dare, because that would defenitifly end in utter chaos. "So, we just ask each other questions?" Wally nodded. "And no skipping questions, only if it's too personal." Everyone agreed. "Kaldur," said Dick. "Do you have gills?" Everybody burst out laughing and Aqualad blushed a scarlet red. "Yes, I do," he muttered, his head resting in his hands. "Damian, which one of your brothers is the most annoying?" Damian smirked. "Well, Jason is the asshole, Dick the spoilsport and Tim the nerd. All of them are annoying." Before anyone could stop them, Dick, Jason and Tim tried to jump on top of their brother, but Damian did a backflip over Tim's head and the boys crashed into each other. Damian was rolling on the floor, trying to get air through the fits of laughter, while the others tried to disentangle themselves. "I swear, if I get my hands on you...", threatened Jason, but Damian only snort. "Then what? You kill me? How many times did you try that, Todd?" Jason grumbled something and Damian rolled his eyes. "Wally, which one of the Young Justice is the most reckless one?" He thought about that. "Well, Conner or Robin. Our bird tends to overestimate himself." To the teams confusion, Jason, Tim amd Damian burst out laughing, while Dick groaned and hid his burning face behind his hands. Wally shrugged, ignoring the strange behaviour of the brothers. "Well, Jason. Which Gotham villain do you dislike the most?" Jason stiffed and Wally frowned. "The Joker," said Jason through gritted teeth."I hate the Joker." Kid Flash nodded. "Makes sense, he's after you and your brothers after all." He had the feeling that there was more than just that, but he didn't ask. If it was important, than Dick would tell him. He knew that Jason was the Red Hood, but he was never told why he quit being Robin. "Tim," said Jason, smirking slightly, "What is your favorite stuff animal's name?" Tim lunged at Jason. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!"

"Ups, I forgot," said Jason sarcastically. Dick quickly put his arms around Tim, before he could punch Jason in the jaw. "Just pick the next one, Tim." Tim glared at Jason. "Fine. Conner, what's your favorite colour?" Jason groaned. "Boring!" Conner rolled his eyes at Jason. "Black, I guess." He looked at Dick. "Why did you leave the circus?" Conner didn't mean to, but he'd hit a nerve. No one spoke and the tension grew with every passing second. Everyone looked warily at Dick, who had a guarded look on his face. "Sorry," muttered Conner, realising that he's said something wrong. Without saying a word, Dick stood up and left. Conner felt guilty, even if he didn't exactly knew what he'd done wrong. "I didn't mean to-"

"It's late," said Tim, daring anyone to contradict. "We should go to bed."

Artemis laid in her bed, not able to sleep. She looked at the clock. 01:35 am. She groaned and turned in her bed, closing her eyes. She was about to finally fall asleep, when an ear splitting scream cut through the silence. She jumped up and reached for her bow. Had the Joker broke into the house and was attacking one of the boys? She slung her quiver over her shoulder and silently opened the door. The others stood in the hallway, weapons drawn, ready to attack. "Where did the scream come from?", whispered Artemis, her heart pounding in her chest. Kaldur pointed to his left. "Somewhere down that hallway. Artemis notched an arrow. "We hav-" She stopped as she heard hastly footsteps coming their way. She raised her bow, but lowered it once she saw Jason running towards them. "Jason, what-" But he ignored Artemis and ran past the team, muttering, "Not again. I knew this would happen." Megan tried to grab his arm, but he dodged her and continued running. The team followed, very confused. What was happening? Jason stopped in front of a room, Dick's room. He reached for the doorknob, but hesitated. He looked at the heroes. "Stay here." Then he dissapeared inside the room. Megan frowned. "So the Joker isn't attacking?" Artemis shook her head, putting the arrow back into the quiver. "Guess not, but what is happening?"

"Dick has a nightmare again," said a tired voice behind them. Artemis spun around and came face to face with Tim Drake. The young boy rubbed his eyes. "He was reminded of his parents' death a bit too often today."

"His parents died?"

Tim nodded sadly. "Yes. It's not my place to tell you what exactly happened, but it wasn't a... natural death." The team looked at each other with sad expressions. "They were killed?", asked Megan almost hesitantly. Tim nodded sighing. "Well, since Jason is taking care of Dick, I'm gonna get some more sleep, bye." He turned around and shambled back to his room. Kaldur looked at Dick's door. "Should we..."

"Jason said we should not go inside. I guess we should follow Tim's example and go back to sleep," muttered Wally, glancing sadly at his best friend's room. He'd love to help Dick, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. Artemis agreed. "Yeah, we should be rested if the Joker attacks."

"Arti is right," said Kaldur. "Let's get some more hours of sleep."

They ate breakfast in an awkward silence. No one knew what to say, even Wally was quiet. He kept glancing at Dick, who looked awfully tired. His hair covered his eyes and his head hung loose. "So," broke Jason finally the silence. "What should we do today?"

"Why doesn't everybody just do what they want to do? I'll go to the gym, who wants to tag along?", asked Damian, not really caring who answered. Jason, Artemis and Conner raised their hands. "Good." The youngest Wayne brother stood up and left without another word, expecting the three teens to follow him.

"Do you have a Wii?", asked Wally suddenly, looked at Dick. He nodded. "Sure, I'll show you. We have four controllers, so two people can join us." "What is a Wii?", asked Miss Martian shyly. She sometimes felt ashamed for not knowing things that seemed so obvious to others. Wally gasped. "Oh my god! You never played Mario Cart, or any other Wii game?" Megan shook her head and looked at the ground. Wally grabbed her hand in a friendly way. "Then it's time we show you the best part of the earth. Mario Cart!" She chuckled. "Okay. But we still need one player, right?"

"I'll come," said Tim, eating his last eggs. "I need to finally beat Dick." The older brother snort. "Just like Jason beat me yesterday?" Tim laughed and shook his head grinning. "His face was hilarious when you called him a Zombie." Megan frowned. She didn't understand why they had called him Zombie and why Jason was so furious afterwards. "Why did you call him that in the first place?" Dick and Tim glanced at each other and Megan got the feeling that they were hiding something, something big. "It's just a nickname," said Dick shrugging. "Jason often overreacts. He has a short temper." Then he turned to Kaldur, eager to change the topic. "What about you?"

"You said you had a swimming pool?" Dick grinned. "Yep. It's huge. I'll show you the way. Tim," he said, adressing the young boy, "you can start playing, I'll be there in a minute." Tim nodded. "Sure."

In the evening, everybody met in the living room again. "I'm hungry," whined Wally, flopping down on the couch. Dick laughed. "I can cook us som-" "No!" Wally jumped at Jason's sudden outburst. "You will not cook again, ever! Not after the Christmas fiasco!" Tim and Damian nodded their heads wildly. "We will never let you even near the oven again!" Megan frowned. "What is the 'Christmas fiasco'?" Tim chuckled. "Well, it was the Christmas two years ago. Bruce and Alfred couldn't come home that night, so we were alone and Dick had the great idea to cook us something. In the end, the oven was burning, and the table stood in flames, the microwave exploded and everything was covered in spices. We were grounded for a month," he said pouting. "And we didn't even do anything! It was all Dick's fault!" Everyone laughed at Dick's red face. "Well," chuckled Artemis, "I think we should just order pizza." Jason jumped up and threw a fist in the air. "Yes! Great idea. I'll get the phone and change into a T-shirt. It's hot in here, almost as hot as me." Then he frowned. "Nah, impossible. No one and nothing is hotter than me." And then he was gone. Artemis blinked. "Did he just say..." Dick let out a huge sigh. "Welcome to my world. Jason is quite... self-confident." Artemis snort. "Obviously."

A/N: So, a new chapter. What do you think so far?


	6. Chapter 4

Sure, there was always trouble with the Wayne brothers, but no-one expected a simple pizza order to end in two kidnappings, a distroyed living room and unconscious guys lying in the wooden splinters of what used to be the couch table.

The team had one mission; protect the Wayne brothers, and they had failed miserably. Now, they had a new mission; find the two missing teenagers, before Bruce Wayne would lose a lot of money and protect the last two brothers from the greedy clutches of the Joker.

Half an hour earlier:

Jason was hungry, and a hungry Jason means stress for everyone in the same house. Not that the team wasn't already stressed out over the whole situation. Mr. Wayne trusted them with the lives of his sons, and they were up against the Gotham villain, the clown Prince of crime himself. And the constant bickering and yells and fights in general didn't really help their mood, so everyone was really happy when the doorbell finally rang through the Manor. Jason jumped up and made a sprint towards the door, but he was tripped by Tim, who laughed and raced past his brother. Jason jumped back to his feet and tried to get to Tim before he'd reach the door, but Tim had already opened it, and Jason couldn't slow down in time and crashed into his younger brother, who fell over and they both landed at the feet of the pizza boy. The team cringed. That looked hurtful. "Ouch," mumbled Tim, as he finally managed to untangle himself from Jason and stood up. Jason stood up as well and shoved his brother back into the house. "You don't even have money to pay him, Replacement! Bruce gave it to me!" Tim crossed his arms and glared at Jason. "Actually, he gave it to Dick, you just stole it from him!"

"Not true!"

Tim snort sarcastically. "As if Bruce would give you the money."

Jason opened and closed his mouth like a fish. "Who cares?! I have the money now, so I pay the pizza boy and get the pizza." Tim groaned, but took a step back, he was hungry, he could fight with Jason later. He looked apologetically at the pizza boy. Tim suddenly got a bad feeling, like something was off. He couldn't quite place a finger on it, but something was defenitifly wrong. He narrowed his eyes at the pizza boy, who was currently taking the money from Jason with shaking hands. Wait, shaking hands? Tim's eyes widened and he forcefully pulled Jason away from the boy and the brothers stumbled to the floor once again. Not a second too soon. A gunshot was heard and the pizza boy fell lifeless to the ground, a pool of blood forming around him and a bullet in his back.

The team was next to the brothers in an instant and pulled the two boys behind them.

"Thanks," breathed Jason, staring in shock at the blood on his shirt. "That shirt was new," he muttered, frowning slightly.

Truth to be told, everyone expected the Joker to sneak into the Manor at night and try to kidnap the boys without attracting too much attention, but the villain surprised them once again. The Joker must have known that the Young Justice was there, because he brought two dozen goons with him, who were now coming through the open door, the Joker nowhere to be seen.

"Is there a place you can hide?", yelled Kaldur at the brothers, trying to hold of a guy who was attacking him with a knife. Jason glanced at Tim and nodded. "Yes."

"Then go!" Jason clenched his fists. He wanted to fight so badly, but he wasn't Red Hood at the moment, he was Jason Todd, just a rich kid. He grabbed Tim's hand and shoved him towards his other brothers, out of the hallway and through the living room, where Tim grabbed a hidden knife from under the couch. "What?", he asked innocently at Dick's what-about-the-'no-weapons-in-the-living-room'-rule glare. Dick rolled his eyes and urged his brothers to follow him. Tim frowned. "Uh, Dick. We are going in the wrong direction. The entrance to the Batcave is that way." He pointed to his right. "We are not going to the Batcave," stated Dick, leading his brother's through the endless hallways of their home. "The Joker wasn't with his goons, so he is either somewhere else in the house, or he is waiting outside to observe. Since the alarm didn't go off, it's save to say that he didn't break in, which leaves only one option."

"He is somewhere outside," finished Jason his thoughts. "And now you want to catch him, right?" Dick nodded. He wanted that sick bastard behind bars. Dick never told anyone- more like showed anyone- but his encounters with a lot of the Gotham villains left marks. The villains in Gotham were madder than anyone Dick had ever faced. They were unscrupulously, sick and didn't hesitate to kill. And they all hated Batman, and what better way to get under the Bat's skin, than hurting his sidekick? The Joker had figured that out long ago. Dick absently touched a scar on his arm, sending slightly painful electric impulses through his body. "You okay?", asked a soft voice from behind. He turned to look at Tim. "Yeah."

"You spaced out for a minute, you sure everything is fine?"

Dick smiled slightly and a warm feeling spread through his body. Tim was so cute when he cared for someone. "Yes, Timmy, don't worry. Everything is fine. We've had worse, haven't we?" Jason snort. "Yep. I died," he said dryly, opening a door next to Dick. "And I'm not keen to do it again, so come on, let's catch a crazy clown." The door led to the for garden of the Manor, and thanks to the dark of the night, no-one noticed the four boys that crept along the wall. "Where should we start looking," whispered Tim, glancing around. "I can't see a damn thing." Dick frowned. Tim was right, they could hardly even see each other, but that also ment, the Joker couldn't see them either.

Suddenly, they heard a crazy laugh, a laugh they all knew far too well. "I guess we don't need to see anything to find him," muttered Damian, "Let's just follow the stupid laugh." Dick pulled two knives out of his hoodie and gave one to Damian and one to Jason, then he pulled another one out of his boot. Tim stared at him. "So you can walk around with weapons, even in the living room, but I can't?!" Dick grinned mischivously. "Rules are made to be broken." Jason snort. "Who are you and what did you do with my spoilsport brother?" Dick pursed his lips. "Shut it, Todd." Damian cleared his throat. "Guys, we're getting off track." Another laugh rang through the air and the four brothers stopped bickering and grabbed their weapons tighter. "Let's move." They followed the sound of laughing. They hid behind a bush and Dick put a finger on his lips, signalling them to be quiet. They heard voices, a woman and a man, no doubt Harley and her prince. "But Puddin', you said I could have fun with the boy!", whined Harley. They could hear her pacing around. "Exactly, 'boy'! I didn't mean one if the Wayne boys, you stupid thing (Not the 'Suicide Squad' Harley and Joker). I meant the bird boy," came the annoyed reply from Joker. Dick clenched his fists. They would have to catch him first, and a bird doesn't like to be caged, especially not this bird. "But Puddin'! We don't even know if the bat and his little birdie will come." Jason tried to suppress a snort and mouthed to Dick, Batman's birdie. Dick just glared at him and turned his attention back to the couple. He still couldn't see more than a few feet, but Joker and Harley were loud enough for everyone to hear. "If they don't come, then we will just wait until the next time. I am sure the little bird wants to see his Uncle J. again."

"Not really," muttered Dick. He lightly touched Jason's shoulder and pointed at the villains. His brother nodded and whispered to Damian and Tim, "We need to lure them into the house, so the team can take them down. We can't fight, because we are just Bruce Wayne's kids at the moment." Damian frowned. "But how should we do that? We can't just ask them nicely to please follow us." Dick smirked. "I have an idea. Just follow my lead." The four boys slowly crept towards the two infamous villains, who were still oblivious to the heroes surrounding them.

Dick took a deep breath and slowly walked out of his hideout. "I heard you were looking for me."


	7. Chapter 5

Ok, the plan was simple. Dick would lure Harley and the Joker inside the house, Jason, Tim and Damian would close the door behind them, so the villains wouldn't be able to escape and the Young Justice, who had hopefully already defeated the goons, would catch the Joker, without anyone getting kidnapped, injured or killed. That would be really good, but of course, something had to go wrong. Thing just can't be simple for once.

A warning for everyone who has to deal with the Joker: Don't make plans. The Joker will just do something totally unexpected or mad and mess with the whole plan.

"I heard you were looking for me," smirked Dick, looking at the madman and his queen challenging. They seemed startled for a second, but the Joker recovered from his shock and laughed. The crazy laugh that send shivers down everyones spines. "Who do we have here? Dick Grayson, I assume." He mock bowed. "It's an honor to meet you." Dick narrowed his eyes. "I have a proposal for you. I'll go with you willingly, but only if you leave my brothers alone, and only if you can catch me." Jason smirked from his hideout. Dick was fast, like really fast, and he seriously doubted that the Joker would be able to catch him. The Joker laughed once more, chuckling at Dick. "It was stupid of you to come here alone, little boy. What stops me from kidnapping you now and coming back for your brothers?" Dick rolled his eyes. "Well, to kidnap me, you still have to catch me first." Joker grinned and turned to Harley. "Get him." The blonde laughed crazily and replied, "Sure thing, Puddin'." Then she took out her baseball bat and charged full speed at Dick.

Tim snickered quietly. What a stupid move.

Dick waited as she raised her bat, ready to knock him unconscious, and jumped to the side at the last second. Harley let out a surprised yelp and ran head first against a tree. Dick had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing as she fell to the ground, knocked out for now. "Now that was rude," said a very angry Joker. "Didn't your mother tell you not to let people ran against trees?" Dick clenched his fists. "No, and even if she did, I don't think her rule would apply to psychos. So, do you accept my deal or not?" Joker glanced at the Manson, where he could see the Young Justice taking down the thugs he'd hired. He realised that he didn't have much time before the heroes would have finished them all off and come searching for him. He needed to act fast.

He snickered madly and grinned at Dick, showing his yellow teeth and did something, that no-one expected him to do. He pulled out a gun. Dick's eyes widened slightly and Jason mentally face-palmed. "Damn it, we forgot that he has a gun," he muttered, watching the Joker's next moves carefully. The maniac laughed and a chill went down Jason's spine. This just got a lot more dangerous. "No, I don't accept," said Joker, aiming the gun at Dick's head. "But I don't think that you were stupid enough to come here alone, so we're are your brothers?" He looked around, gun still maimed at Dick. "Come out, come out, wherever you are," he said in a sing-song voice. Jason stayed still, glancing at Damian and Tim, who didn't move a muscle, their eyes following the Joker's every movement. Someone had to do something, before this whole situation would escalate. "Come out!", yelled the Joker, finger hovering above the deduction of the gun. He was not very patient. "Or I'll shoot your brother." Dick locked eyes with Jason and slightly shook his head. "If you shoot me," he said, turning his attention back to the maniac in front of him, "Then you won't get any money." The Joker considered that for a second, then he smirked devilishly and lowered the weapon, so it aimed at his shoulder, the lust for pain shining in his eyes. "I don't have to kill you, I can just inflict a lot of pain on you. That's always more fun. Tell me, can you sing?" Dick stiffed and Jason saw the fear in his brother's eyes, who quickly put his poker-face back on. "I guess you'll find out soon enough."

Jason glanced at at his younger brothers, who were nodding at him. They couldn't let Dick get hurt, not their Dickie-bird.

"Don't hurt him," said Jason, slowly walking towards the Joker, Damian and Tim following behind. "Jason," hissed Dick warningly, afraid for his brothers. "What are you doing?" Tim rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? We're saving you from getting shot, idiot." A small smiled tugged at Dick's lips. He knew that they would die for him, and he'd die for them. "Aww," purred the Joker, his eyes glistening with craziness. "A family reunion." Dick glared at him. "You have what you want, now take the gun down."

Whilst the Joker's attention was on Dick, Jason signalled Damian and Tim to go to either side of the Joker, successfully surrounding the villain. "Hey, Joker," said Tim, crossing his arms, smirking smugly. "You do realise that it's four against one, right? And you can't shoot all of us at the same time, so if you shoot one, the other three will take you down." They knew that the Joker wouldn't kill them, since he needed the money, and they all had been shot one or more times, they could handle the pain. An uneasy feeling spread through Tim, as the Joker's smirk didn't vanish. "You sure I won't kill you? I could just demand the same amount of money for only three of you." He grinned at the boys, pointing the gun at each one of them for a few seconds, then aiming at the next one.

Boom!

The Joker had pulled the trigger.

A body fell lifeless to the ground.

Earlier with the team, just after they send the brothers away:

Artemis was firing arrow after arrow, injuring but not killing the thugs that were attacking her and her teammates. Luckily, none of them had guns, so it was a somewhat fair fight, even if the team was outnumbered, but with their powers, they could hold off several guys at the same time. Artemis jumped pack as one of them, a big guy with a pig mask, threw a punch at her face. She hit him in the temple with her bow in response. The pig-guy crumbled to the floor, but another one, this one had a horse mask and was swinging a metallic bat, took his place. She dodged a kick to her stomach and ducked under a swing of the bat. She took an arrow out of her quiver and rammed it into the guy's leg. He let out a pained scream- a really high pitched scream- and Artemis knocked him out with a punch in the face. She saw a yellow blur ran past her and smiled slightly at the thought of Wally. A kick to her stomach pulled her out of her thoughts. She cought and glared at the guy who had kicked her. "Hey! I was daydreaming about my boyfriend, you brainless idiot!" She roundhouse-kicked the guy in the face and he stumbled backwards, but quickly regained his balance. He pulled out a pocket knife and aimed at her arms, but Artemis blocked it with her bow and kicked the guy right between the legs and he fell to his knees. "That's for interrupting my daydream, asshole." Then she successfully knocked him out with a punch to the temple. "And that's because punching people is fun." She looked around to see if anyone needed help. Wally was zooming around, throwing punches here and there and just running against people and throwing them to the ground. Miss Martian was probably invisible, because goons were falling to the ground without a visible cause. Kaldur was surrounded by unconscious bodys and had a gash on his cheek, but otherwise he seemed fine. Superboy was throwing thugs against the walls. He defenitifly didn't need help. The last goons fell to the floor and didn't stand up again. "Is everybody okay?", asked Kaldur, breathing heavily. Artemis nodded. "Yeah. No lethal injuries."

"Good. Now we just need to find the boys." Suddenly, Megan gasped, stumbling to the side. Conner catched her, before she could fall. "What is it?"

"I don't know," muttered Megan, holding her head. "Something is wrong."

Boom!

Kaldur's body went rigid. "Was that a gun shot?" You could hear the worry clearly in his voice. Artemis nodded. "And it came from outside." Suddenly, they heard a laugh that chilled them to the core. "The Joker," breathed Artemis, feeling panic rise inside her. What if he killed one of the boys? They looked at each other and sprinted towards the horrible laugh, Wally already out of sight. When they reached a clearing in the woods in front of the Manor, they stopped dead in their tracks. Artemis gasped. Blood. The first thing she smelled was the metallic smell of blood. Her eyes landed on someone on the ground, a pool of blood surrounding him. "Oh god," whispered Artemis. This couldn't be happening. "The Joker is gone," whispered a quiet voice. Someone was sitting next to the shot person, applying pressure to the wound, ignoring the blood on his fingers. "And he took them with him. They are gone. Both of them." That's when Artemis noticed that only two Wayne brothers were present, one unconscious and bleeding out, the other one at the verge of tears, trying to save his brother's life. The other two were gone, and so was the Joker.

A/N: Dundunduuuuun! Cliffhanger! So, who is bleeding to death? Who was kidnapped? Oh, and where is Harley? I know I'm evil


	8. Chapter 6

Damian was seriously freaking out right now. One of his brothers was bleeding to death from a bullet wound in his stomach and the other two were kidnapped by the Prince of crime. Great, just great, note the sarcasm. "We need to get him inside!", he yelled, looking at the heroes behind him. "Right," said Kaldur, taking the lead. "Megan, lift him up with your powers and carry him inside." Miss M. did as she was told and the group hurried to the mansion, laying the injured boy on the kitchen table. "Well, Alfred his going to kill us," muttered Damian as he looked at the pool of blood that was slowly forming around his brother. He looked at him with pained eyes. "Can you help him?" Kaldur looked troubled. "I am not sure t-" "But I am," said Damian firmly, clenching his fists. They had the medical supplies they needed down in the Batcave. "Bruce is going to kill me, too," he whispered to himself. Then he looked at the team. "I know how we can save him, but you'll have a lot of questions, which I'll answer once we have saved my brother." He didn't leave any room for discussion. He grasped his brother's hand. "Don't worry, Timmy. I'm not letting you die." He frowned. "Not because I care, you just still owe me money," he added as an after thought, but everyone could see through his lie.

Somewhere else, in an abondened warehouse (cliché much), Jason was slowly regaining consciousness. There was a dull throbbing in the back of his head and he groaned. What happened? He felt drowsy and his eyelids were too heavy to open them. He tried to remember, but his memory was fuzzy. They were outside the Manor, with the Joker and then the gunshot- his eyes snapped open. "Tim!" He heard a dry chuckle from beside him. "Took you long enough to wake up." Jason slowly turned his head, the pain in his muscles screaming at him to stop. "Dick? What happened?" He took a closer look at his brother. He was strapped to a chair, but other than the worry clearly on his face, he seemed fine. What really confused him were the chains around his wrists and ankles. Dick shrugged, seemingly reading Jason's mind. "No idea why they didn't just use ropes. Maybe they were out of ropes?" Jason rolled his eyes and looked at himself. He realised that he was in the same position as his brother, strapped to a chair, chains around his wrists and ankles. "How did we even get here?" He could feel Dick tense next to him. "After that sick son of a b-"

"Language, young man," smirked Jason, but he quickly shut up as Dick shot him a batglare. "As I was saying, after the Joker shot Tim-" Jason could see how much self control it took for Dick not to break the chair and search for the maniac who had hurt his brother, "We were distracted, so he injected us with some kind of drug. Damian was out of his reach, so he is still with Timmy." Jason clenched his fists. "I may not be the biggest fan of Damian, but I know that he'll do anything to save Tim. Don't worry, they will be fine." Dick seemed to relax slightly. "Well, I guess that the drug knocked us out and the Joker took us with him." Jason nodded grimly. "Yeah. Can you get out if the chains?" Suddenly, someone behind them laughed, a cold laugh full of craziness and madness. "None of you is getting out of the chains, boys. Don't even try." Jason tensed. He'd recognize that voice everywhere, it was after all the last thing he'd heard before he died. "Joker," spat Dick, trying to turn around. The madman walked around the brothers so he was standing in front of them. "I hope you enjoyed you little nap." Jason glared at him. That bastard had shot Tim, his little Tim. He'd pay. But truth to be told, he was also afraid. The Joker had left a deep mental scar on him, a scar he couldn't deny. "Why are you so quiet," whined the Joker, spreading his arms wide and turning in a circle. "Be happy! C'mon!" Jason mentally face-palmed. (He couldn't do it in real since his wrists were chained to the chair...). "I don't think there is anything to be happy about," he snarled, glaring at his captor. The Joker pouted. "Being with your uncle J. isn't something to be happy about? What did I do to deserve such hard words?" Dick snort humorlessly. "Let me enlighten you. You held a gun to my face, shot our brother, drugged and kidnapped us, chained us to chairs in a warehouse- which is really cliché by the way- and now you are going to demand ransom in exchange for our freedom. Are that enough reasons for us not to be happy!?" No One spoke for a second, until the Joker burst out laughing once again, but something unsettled Jason and he glanced warily at Dick, who was glaring daggers at the villain. Something was off. The Joker stopped laughing and turned his attention back to the boys. "Well, there was a change of plans." His smirk made Jason's blood run cold. Something was defenitifly wrong. The maniac's cold and crazy eyes were glued to Dick and Jason began to worry for his brother. "And what are those 'changes'", hissed Dick, glaring at the Joker. He cackled and a shiver ran down Jason's and Dick's spine. "I have discovered something rather... exiting, you know. I was searching for your wallet-" he said, eyes still on Dick and Jason got the feeling that they both were in deep trouble, lethal trouble now, "and while I was looking in your shirt pocket, I felt something under your shirt, so I looked what it was and guess what I found. A scar, a really familiar scar." He cackled again and Jason frowned as Dick paled rapidly, all color draining from his face. "Do you know what I'm talking about, Boy Wonder?"

(I thought about stopping here, but someone told me to try being nice (which isn't as much fun as being evil), but I guess I'll try)

"So," muttered Artemis disbelievingly. "Bruce Wayne is Batman."

After Damian has led the Young Justice to the Batcave, they didn't really have time to progress what was going on, as they had to save Tim. They had cleaned his wound and Damian was able to get the bullet out of his stomach. They had wrapped his upper body in bandages and were waiting for him to wake up. Damian had allowed the team to ask questions and now he was trying to answer as much as he could.

"Yes, Bruce is Batman."

Wally was lost in thoughts. He was pretty sure that Batman would kill them for finding out his identity. "Dick is Robin, right?", asked Aqualad, running his hand threw his hair. Damian nodded gloomy. Conner clenched his fists and punched a table, breaking it in the process. "This just got personal. You mess with one of us, you get all of us." Everyone looked at him in shock. "What? He is part of our team." Megan smiled. "And we will get him back." Damian sighed and glanced at the pale face of his brother. "It's not Dick I'm worried about. It's Jason, with his stupid big mouth. The Joker had killed him once and I'll not allow him to do it a second time, even if Todd is the most annoying person I know." Artemis choked. "Wait, what?"

(Let's just pretend that Jason has always been Red Hood and Tim was always Red Robin, so Dick is the only Robin)

Damian sighed. "Well, Jason is Red Hood, as most of you have probably already figured out, and he was killed by the Joker, but resurrected by the Lazarus pit."

Artemis shook her head. "This is way too much for me. Jason is a Zombie?" Suddenly, Megan jumped up. "Hello, Megan! That explains it! That is the reason he was so angry when Dick- Robin- called him 'Zombie'." Damian nodded. "Yep. Any other questions?" Wally raised his hand. "Dick told me you could fight, but why doesn't Bruce let you go on patrol?"

"Wait," interrupted Kaldur. "You knew?!" Wally shrugged sheepishly. "Well, yeah. Dick forbid me to tell you anything, but yes, I knew." Damian rolled his eyes. They were acting like kids. "Bruce thinks I'm too young. So, can we now try to find Dick and Jason. Any other questions will have to wait." Everybody nodded and Damian went to the Bat-computer. "At times like this, I really want to have hacking skills like Dick," he muttered to himself as be searched for any clues to the Joker's whereabouts. After hours of searching and finding nothing, they heard a weak cought from behind and Damian spun around. "You know, Demon brat, Bruce will kill you for telling them his secret." Damian embraced his brother in a bone-crushing hug, but quickly retreated. "You still owe me money, Drake." A small smile played on Tim's lips, who was trying to sit up. "Oh really? I don't remember you lending me any money." Damian smirked and crossed his arms. "It was two weeks ago. You wanted ice-cream but didn't have any money, so Dick forced me to lend you some." Tim frowned. "Well, I guess I do owe you money." He looked around. "Wait, where are Dick and Jason?" Damian tensed and so did the team. They glanced at each other and didn't know what to say. Tim's eyes went wide and he tried to stand up, but winced in pain. Damian pushed him back on the bed and sighed. "The Joker has them."

"What?! We need to find them!"

Damian tried to calm down his raging brother. "We are doing what we can, but Dick is the one with the hacking skills, not me." Tim clenched his fists. He wanted to punch something. He felt so useless, just lying in the stupid bed. "I am sure they are fine," reassured Damian, but Tim could hear the worry in the younger boy's voice. "Yeah," muttered Tim, "They are strong. They are fine, they have to be."

Boy was he wrong.

A scream echoed threw the abondened warehouse, a scream full of pain, followed by another scream, this one full of rage and worry.

A/N: Ok, I knew I said I would be nice, but I just love Cliffhangers! Muhahahaha!!!!


	9. Chapter 7

This is my longest chapter yet...

In Dick's words, Jason was not feeling the aster right now. He hated being chained up. Chained to a chair, chained to the ceiling (really hurtful btw), or like now, chained to a wall. He sighed. He had already tried to get out of the chains, but every attempt had failed and left him with sore skin under the thick chains around his wrists.

One day had passed since he and Dick were kidnapped and the Joker seemed to think that asking Scarecrow to join him was a good idea. Jason's stomach grumbled, reminding him of the lack of food, but his hunger and thirst were nothing compared to his worry for Dick. Sure, Dick was his older brother, but Jason would always see him as his baby brother. It was just Dick's childish manners that made everyone adore him, and Jason, with his 15 years, was only one year younger than Dick. He clenched his fists as he remembered the previous day's events.

The Joker cackled and Jason frowned as Dick paled rapidly, all color draining from his face. "Do you know what I'm talking about, Boy Wonder?"

Jason gasped and stared at Dick. This was bad, really bad. Being kidnapped for being the sons of billionaire Bruce Wayne is one thing, but being kidnapped by the Joker as Robin, that was a completely different story. Everybody knew how obsessed the maniac was with Batman. Joker's gaze shifted to Jason. "And if I had to guess, than I'd say that you are Red Hood, aren't I right?" Jason just glared at him, but his non-existent answer was an answer itself. Joker chuckled darkly, finding this whole situation absolutely comical. "Well, I guess you remember Daisy?" Jason frowned. "Who?"

"Not who, 'what'. Wait a second, I'll be right back." He disappears somewhere in the dark. "So," muttered Jason. "I guess we are in trouble now?" Dick snort humorlessly and Jason threw a worried glance at him. "Yes, trouble," said his older brother, sounding somewhat bitter, "I'm sorry I blew our cover." Jason just shook his head. "Don't be. The only thing I'm angry about is that you didn't tell me anything about the scar." Regret filled Dick's eyes and Jason immediately felt guilty. Scars held storys, he knew that better than anyone and he could understand if Dick didn't want to release those memories. "Sorry," he apologized, smirking at Dick's shocked face. Jason was apologizing, the world was ending. "You don't have to talk about it of you aren't ready to." A dry chuckle escaped Dick's lips. "I am doing this since I was nine, you know. It's no wonder I have scars." Jason's eyes widened slightly. "Scars with an 's' at the end, as in plural?" Dick rolled his eyes. "Yes, scars with an 's'. Don't be so shocked," he said as he saw Jason's expression. "What did you expect? That I have never been captured? That I haven't been shot, or cut? You know how the villains are in Gotham. They don't make a different between a kid and an adult." Jason slowly processed what his brother was saying. His always happy, caring, fearless and carefree brother had wore a mask of fake-feelings all along. "Why didn't you tell us?" Whispered Jason, voice cracking. Dick looked troubled. "This is my problem, not your. I didn't want you to worry about me." A cruel laugh interrupted the brotherly moment. "How touching," snarled the Joker, stepping back into the dim light the lamp above their heads was giving. "But I'd like to reintroduce dear Mr. Todd here to my dear old friend Daisy." A pulled out a crowbar from behind his back and Jason sucked in a sharp breath. He hated crowbars. Dick eyed the weapon carefully and once he saw the dried blood, he asked, disgust lacing his voice, "Is that...?" He wasn't able to finish his sentence, but Jason- and sadly the Joker- understood what he ment. The maniac laughed one of his typical shrill laughs and nodded. "Yes, yes, it is. This, Gentlemen, is the blood of Jason Todd, or better known as Red Hood. You know," he said, turning his cold eyes to stare at Jason, "She really missed you. We both agree that blood really suits your face and now it will stand in contrast with the white streaks in your hair. Isn't that great, a real masterpiece. Maybe I should call it 'The broken boy', what do you think?" Jason wanted to spit a snarky reply, but Dick beat him to it. "I think that you are a disgusting piece of shit that better stays away from my brother." Joker laid a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "My, my, Boy Blunder, have you forgotten everything I taught you about showing respect?" Jason clenched his fists as Dick shuddered. Joker's teaching methods couldn't be... pleasant for the student and in this case, the student was his brother. "Leave him alone, you bastard!" The Joker groaned in fake annoyance. "Don't tell me I have to teach you the same lesson. Are all of you 'Batboys' so disrespectful?" Jason decided to play dumb. "What others?" That resulted in a hard slap to his cheek that jerked his head to the side. "Hey!" Yelled Dick, but Jason just rolled his eyes. He had had worse, far worse. "I mean," explained the Joker, eyes fixed on Jason, "Red Robin and Batman, or should I say Timmy and Brucy?" Jason lowered his eyes. The Joker had figured it all out. The villain cackled. "And what about the last boy? Damian?" Dick glared at him and replied, "Non of your business." The Joker just smirked wickedly. "Whatever you say. You know, Bird Brain-" Jason scowled at the insult, whilst Dick just watched the Joker with calm eyes, "I love you all- I love Batman the most of course, but you come right after him. You could say you are my little favorite." Dick flinched at the word and spat, "Shut up!" Jason frowned and the Joker noticed his confusion. "Oh dear, I think our little Hood is confused. Why don't we enlighten him, Robin?" Dick just shook his head. "Stay the fuck away from me." Wow, if Dick was swearing, than he was serious about this, he didn't want Jason to know- whatever Jasons wasn't supposed to know. The Joker shook his head sadly. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Bird Boy. I thought I taught you some manners." Dick snort. "Hell will freeze before I listen to you." A dangerous glint was in the Joker's eyes as he paced in front of the brothers. "Is that a challenge?" He sounded truly excited. "Dick," hissed Jason warningly. His brother was moving on very thin ice here. Ignoring Jason, Dick just stared angrily at his captor. Joker started laughing again and walked behind Dick to move his chair so he was facing Jason now. "So," said the villain, bouncing on the balls of his feet, "Who is ready to reveal some secrets?" Jason frowned. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"There shouldn't be any secrets between brothers, but our dear Birdie has a few things he doesn't want to share. I am just trying to strengthen the bond between you two. I'm trying to help!" Jason glared at him. "We don't need your help, so thanks, but no thanks."

Another slap to his cheek. It was really starting to sting now. "I am not giving you a choice." He took out a pocket knife. Jason took a sharp breath, but the Joker strode over to Dick who started to struggle in his chair. "Hey!" Cried Jason. "Leave him alone!" The Joker just laughed. "Oh, I don't want to hurt him, I'm just going to cut open his shirt, that's all." If Dick and Jason wouldn't have been in a situation like that, Jason would have said something stupid about the Joker wanting to see Dick shirtless, but Dick looked really panicked, so Jason bit his tongue and kept quiet. As their tormentor started to cut his shirt, Dick struggled even harder, but the chains kept him in place. "Now, now, Robby, stay still or you'll hurt yourself."

"Get away from me," hissed Dick, his voice lacing with anger and hate. Jason had never seen his brother like this, so panicked and helpless. The Joker ignored Dick's protest. Once he had fully stripped Dick off his shirt, he stepped aside to show Jason the bare chest of his older brother. Jason gasped. Scars. Scars littered Dick's body like a second skin. Jason let out a choked sound, a mix between a sob and an angry growl. Who would do that to his sweet, caring brother? The answer stood right next to him. The Joker looked at all the scars in glee. "Beautiful, aren't they?" Jason felt like puking. His definition of beautiful was defenitifly different from the Joker's. The maniac brushed over one of the scars with his finger and Dick shuddered. "I like this one the most," said Joker, pointing at a scar right over Dick's heart. Jason narrowed his eyes. There, carved deeply into his brother's skin was the word 'favorite'. Jason's eyes widened in realisation. That was why Dick had flinched when the Joker had called him that, because he was already marked as his 'favorite'. "Dick," whispered Jason in horror. Sure, he had scars, too, but not like this. He didn't even want to know about Dick's mental state. To hide all of this must have taken its toll on Dick. The Joker laughed crazily and raging fury filled Jason. "I swear to god, I will kill you for this, I will rip you ap-" A knife at Dick's throat stopped his rambling. "Tsk, tsk, I don't like being threatened and you don't want me to add another scar on your brother's body, do you?" Jason gritted his teeth in anger but shut his mouth. "Good," purred the crazy man in front of him. "And now apologize." Jason almost laughed. Yeah right, as if. The knife was pressed deeper into Dick's skin and droplets of blood ran down his neck. Jason clenched his fists. "Come on, Yay yay. I just want to hear those little words. It won't kill you-" then he smirked, "But disobeying will kill your precious brother." And as he pressed the knife even deeper into Dick's neck and Dick hissed in pain, Jason finally lowered his head, eyes burning with rage. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, hands clutching the arms of his chair. "What was that?" Mocked the Joker, cackling as Jason glared at him and yelled, "I said I'm sorry! Are you happy now?"

"Oh, yes I am." He took something out of his pocket. Jason realise that it were two masked, similar to the ones Red Robin and Robin wear. The Joker grinned and put them on the brothers' faces, who were struggling the whole time, but they couldn't do much with their bound hands and feet. Then he turned to his left-Jason suspected the door to be there- and whistled once. A second later, they could hear the creak of a door and another figure stepped into the light. Jason took a sharp breath. Scarecrow. Looks like the Joker brought his friends, but wanted to be the only one who knew their secret identity. Scarecrow smirked. "Who do we have here? Two of the bat's boys?"

"Yes, yes," answered the Joker in a song-song voice. "Red Hood and our little Birdie." The other villain frowned. "Who is who? And why is Red Hood wearing a mask, too? What _happened_ to his helmet?" The Joker shrugged innocently. "I don't know. I guess they were trying to confuse me. Didn't really work," he added the last part quietly, voice dangerously low, sending shivers down Jason's spine, then he pointed at Dick. "This one is Robin." The smile that crept on Scarecrow's face wasn't a good sign. "The little Birdie in chains, huh, and no Batman to save you-" he turned to Jason, "Both of you." Jason glared at him and the Joker. "What the hell do you want?" Scarecrow smirked. "Information. We want to know where the Batcave is." Jason glanced at Joker and the glint in his captor's eyes told him that he already suspected the answer. The Joker just wanted to see how long Red Hood and Robin could resist the pain that was to come.

That was the last time he had seen Dick. Scarecrow had taken Jason to the cell he was currently in and the Joker had taken Dick somewhere else. That bastard had but speakers inside Jason's cell and the next few hours were torture. Mental torture. Jason was forced to listen to Dick's screams, the never-ending, horrible screams of pain. Jason was sure that he was going insane if he had to listen to his brother's pain any longer. One day and Jason was already cracking.

A/N: Pleaseeee don't kill me. I have to admit that I didn't really plan this chapter and I kinda got off track, but yeah... What do you think?


	10. Chapter 8

Damian growled in frustration. Three days, three fucking days and they still hadn't found anything on the Joker. "Where is that bastard?" That's when the alarm sign popped up on the Bat-computer. "Great," muttered Damian sarcastically. "A robbery." He sighed and called the Young Justice. Tim was still resting, even if he had protested and said that they needed him to find Dick and Jason. Damian would never admit it, but he was worried for his brothers, Tim included. Tim was still injured, and a bullet to the stomach doesn't heal fast.

Someone cleared their throat and Damian spun around. The team stood behind him, looking nervous.

"Did you find anything?" He shook his head. "No, but there is a robbery going on. I need you to go there while I keep on searching for Dick and Jason." Kaldur nodded. "We will put the thief behind bars, but you need to rest. When was the last time you slept?" Damian shrugged. "Don't know. Two days ago?"

"I will look for Dick and Jason," said a voice and everybody turned their heads towards the entrance of the cave. "Tim, you are supposed to sleep. You're still healing." Tim just rolled his eyes. "I am fine. Damian, you'll sleep. Now." Damian glared at Tim, but he knew that his brother wouldn't back down, so he sighed. If he thought about it, he was pretty tired and a bit sleep wouldn't hurt anyone. "Fine, but call me as soon as you find anything." Tim nodded and walked to the Bat-computer, while Damian left. "Don't you have a mission?" He asked the team. Kaldur nodded. "Just be careful, your wound hasn't fully healed yet."

"Yes, yes, now go."

With one last worried glance at Tim, the team left the Batcave as well.

Tim turned his attention to the screen. He noticed with a slight smirk that Damian had managed to hack into the security cameras all around Gotham. "So he did listen during Dick's hacking lessons," he muttered. His eyes searched for anything suspicious, but he found nothing unusual, so he decided with a sigh to watch the Young Justice's mission.

Megan was feeling a lot of different emotions from the team. Most felt guilty, angry or sad. Megan herself felt very sorrowful. Now that they knew that Dick was Robin, things had gotten personal. No one messes with their team without consequences. Megan sighed and asked, 'Is the mind link up?' The team nodded. 'Good,' said Aqualad, taking the lead, 'Let's move. We need to be at the jewellery store before the thief leaves.' They moved forward.

Megan looked through on of the store windows and gasped. 'What the hell is that?!' She could hear Artemis scrowl threw the mind link. 'That's Scarecrow. One of Batman's villains.' Wally snort and looked at him closely. "Well, I bet he doesn't have a girlfriend." Artemis hit him across the head. 'Not important, idiot. And speak through the link, he could hear you.' Wally rolled his eyes. 'Whatever.'

"Let's go in, team,' commanded Aqualad. He took out his weapon and position himself in front of the door. 'I will kick the door open, Miss M., Superboy and Wally will come through the windows and Artemis will follow me, understood?' Everybody nodded their heads and Aqualad hold three fingers up. Then he started the countdown and kicked the door open when his last finger was down. They surrounded the creepy villain, who didn't seem startled at all. Megan narrowed her eyes and took a closer look at the store. Nothing was missing. 'Guys, I don't think he's here to steal something.' And as if he'd heard her, Scarecrow began to speak. "The junior League, how nice of you to show up. Took you long enough." Aqualad growled. "What do you want?"

"Me? I don't want anything, but I see that you are missing someone. Someone you want back." Megan gasped. 'Is he talking about Robin?'

'But that would mean he knows that Dick Grayson is Robin!' Exclaimed Artemis slightly panicked. Aqualad glared at the villain. "If you don't want anything, than why are you here?" Scarecrow laughed. "I lied, I want these beauties." He pointed at a few diamond necklaces. Wally crossed his arms. "And what makes you think that we will just let you walk away with them?" Their opponent smirked. "I am sure you don't want Red Hood and your precious bird to get hurt, do you?" Megan clenched her fists. How dare that monster blackmail them with the health of their friends? And why didn't he refers to them as Dick and Jason? She narrowed her eyes and concentrated on the man's mind. Images flashed threw her own mind as she went through his newest memories.

Robin and Red Hood with domino masks on their faces, Jason being dragged to a dark, little cell, and a scene that she wished she could forget; Robin chained to a table, his mouth opened in a silent scream and his eyes showing too much pain for Megan to handle.

She gasped and pulled out of Scarecrow's mind. "You ok?" Asked Artemis quietly and she nodded. "And now," said the villain who hadn't noticed Miss Martian's penetration of his privacy, "I will take those jewellers, while you stand there and watch." Wally had his fists clenched and growled. "You won't get away with this. We will find Robin and Red Hood and we will stop you and the Joker." Scarecrow just laughed. "I highly doubt that." He winked at the team and started shoving the expensive jewellers inside his pockets and they were unable to do anything against it. They could just stand there and grit their teeth. "See you soon, kids." And then he was gone. "That bastard," growled Aqualad, punching a wall. "Let's go back," muttered Megan gravely. "I need to tell you something."

The team met back at the Batcave, where Damian and Tim were already waiting for them. "What the hell was that!" Exclaimed Tim. "You let Scarecrow go and let him steal the jewellers?" Megan sighed. "Has has allied himself with the Joker. He threatened Robin and Red Hood, so we had to let him go." Tim growled very animal-like, but then his eyes widened. "Wait, what?! He knows who they are?!" Damian ran a hand threw his hair. "This is bad, really bad."

"No-"

Megan was interrupted by Kaldur. "If they found out who Dick and Jason are, then they probably also know your identities."

"Guys-" Megan tried again, but Tim spoke louder than her. "We need to find them, now! And we need to tell Batman!"

"GUYS!" Yelled Megan, anger boiling inside her. Couldn't they just listen to her for once?

"What is it, Megan?" Asked Kaldur nicely, noticing her anger. "Scarecrow doesn't know their secret identities." Tim frowned. "But-"

"I guess that only the Joker knows- what is bad enough. I read Scarecrow's mind and saw that the Joker had put domino masks on Dick's and Jason's face." Tim ran a hand over his face and groaned. "This is still bad. If the Joker doesn't want anyone else to know who they really are, then he's planning to use that information somehow. Maybe sell it, or blackmail us." Megan bit her lip nervously. She wasn't sure weather she should tell them about Dick getting tortured or not. She shuddered as she remembered his painful expression and anger swelled up inside her once again. "Megan?" Asked Tim carefully. "Is there something else you want to tell us?" Megan looked around warily. Everyone was watching her now and she shifted her weight from one foot to the other uncomfortablely. "Well, there is one more thing... I- I saw Robin and he wasn't in a very good condition." She muttered the last part quietly, eyes fixed on the ground. Damian took a sharp breath. "What exactly does 'not in a very good condition' mean?" Megan wrenched her hands. "He- he was screaming and- and he was chained to a metal table, that's all I saw." Tim clenched his fists. "Okay, we need to find them, now. I'm going to call Batman." No one objected, not even Wally, who was more than scared that the Dark Knight would kill them for finding out his secret.

Tim tipped a few thing on the computer and then Batman appeared on the screen. He looked at the teenagers and a scowl appeared on his lips. "You told them." Tim nodded. "We had to, Bruce. We are in trouble, serious trouble. The Joker kidnapped Dick and Jason and he knows that they are Robin and Red Hood and Scarecrow sided with him, but he doesn't know their secret identities, he just thinks that the Joker kidnapped Robin and Hood, and now he is rampaging through Gotham and we can't stop him, because he threatened to hurt Dick and Jason and we believe that the Joker knows our identities, too, and please don't kill us!" He gasped for air and stared as his father-figure warily. Batman took a moment to process everything and the team could see the burning rage in Daddybats' eyes. "I'm on my way." He ended the call and Tim glanced at everyone else. "I hope that Dick and Jason can hold on long enough for Batman to find them. He is the world's greatest detective after all, I am sure he can find them." Damian nodded. "And Dick and Jason are strong. They can do this." The two brothers glanced at each other. They just hoped they would get their brothers back in one piece and that they would still be the same. They both knew that torture could change people.

Dick cought up blood. He was lying on the cold hard ground in his little cell, eyes closed shut. Scarecrow and Joker had stopped asking questions a day ago. His body hurt and he shivered, hugging his knees to his chest as an attempt to keep his body from freezing. It was so cold that he could see his breath in front of his face and he couldn't move a muscle without whimpering in pain. He had tried to sit up a few minutes ago, but a burning fire had raced through his cells and Dick had quickly laid back down again. The only good thing about the cold was, that it was numbing his body, so the burning pain subsided into a dull throbbing. His biggest problem was breathing. Joker and Scarecrow would give him one little cup of water each day and after this day's torture- he shuddered at the thought- his throat was as dry as sandpaper and every breath hurt like a knife tearing his throat apart. Dick hated to show pain in front of his enemys, but the Joker had injected him with some kind of liquid and the pain had been unbearable, so Dick had screamed. And he had screamed for a very long time, because the pain hadn't lessened for what felt like forever. The poison was still in his blood system, weakening Dick, but not killing him. Scarecrow didn't even thought it was necessary to chain him up, so he had just thrown him onto the ground, but it didn't matter, since he couldn't move, much less escape.

Dick missed Jason. He hadn't seen him in the three days they had been held captive and he hated being alone. He needed someone to talk to, someone who would comfort him and give him the typical 'It's going to be okay' talk. And Dick was scared of what the Joker was doing to Jason, considering that he had killed him before.

The creak of the door pulled him out of his thoughts. Not again, he thought. He quickly put on his Poker-face as he heard footsteps approaching. "Let's have some fun, Bird Boy. I'm just finished with your brother, but he didn't give me the satisfaction I wanted. Maybe you will?" Dick wanted to growl, but he could only choke out a gurgling sound. The Joker laughed. "Don't worry, our little Hood is still alive." Relieve washed over Dick and a bit of the tension left his body. The maniac cackled and crouched down next to him. "Why are you so quiet, Pumpkin? Sing for me one more time, will you?"

A/N: So, what do you think? I probably won't be able to update so much the next week, because I 'm writing three freaking class tests , but I write as much as I can.


	11. Chapter 9

To say Batman was furious when he found out that Tim had been shot was an understatement. He let his anger out on the furniture. Let's just say that Bruce Wayne needed to buy a new kitchen. Tim just sighed. "I'm fine, Bruce. But we need to find Dick and Jason." Batman nodded, but he was still shaking with anger. This was the first time the team had seen him showing emotions and they didn't like it one bit. "Did you tell Barbara about this?" Tim and Damian stiffed and looked at each other in horror. "Oh, oh. We forgot to tell her." Batman looked at the two in disbelieve. "She's going to kill you." Artemis frowned. "Who is Barbara?" Damian smirked. "Dick's girlfriend." Tim punched him in the shoulder. "Yes, and Batgirl. A very angry Batgirl if we don't tell her that her boyfriend has been kidnapped!" Bruce sighed. "Just go downstairs and call her." Tim and Damian disappeared into the Batcave and the team was left alone with Batman.

Batman was giving them a lecture about having one mission and failing, about letting Tim getting shot and generally scaring the crap out of the team when they heard a crash, screaming and two pairs of footsteps running toward them. "What the-" muttered Artemis as the team stepped aside to let Tim and Damian ran past them, looking horrified and screaming bloody murder. Then they disappeared behind the door at the end if the living room. "Uh?" Asked Artemis again, staring at the spot the brothers left the room. "What just happened?" Then they heard a unfamiliar voice scream at them to come back. "Come back, you brainless idiots! I swear I'll kill you if you don't come back right now so I can kill you! It doesn't matter what you do, you will die anyways! When I get my hands on you, you Hobos!" A girl with bright red hair and a furious glint in her eyes ran into the living room, stopping once she saw the team. "Hi, I'm Barbara." Then she turned to Batman. "Where are they?" Batman pointed at the door the brothers had ran through and the girl- Barbara- continued chasing the Batboys. "So," muttered Artemis, "That was Robin's girlfriend?" Batman nodded. "Barbara Gordon, or Batgirl."

"Will she be able to help us find them?"

"I hope so."

After three hours of trying to stop Barbara from killing Tim and Damian for not telling her that her boyfriend was missing, they all met in the Batcave, Damian with a broken nose and Tim with a black eye.

"What do we know?" Asked Batman, adressing Aqualad. The Atlantian stepped forward. "Nothing much. We know that Scarecrow has sided with the Joker. He thinks that Joker had kidnapped Robin and Red Hood and doesn't know their secret identities. That's about it."

"That's not much."

"We know."

Batman sighed and turned to his sons. "Have you tried to activate their trackers?" Damian shook his head. "The trackers are in the suits and Dick and Jason are in civilian clothes. There is no way to find them that way."

"I wasn't talking about th-"

"You were talking about the trackers in our arms, weren't you?" Spat Tim, holding up his arm and pointed at a fading scar. "I cut it out." There was silence and then Damian growled, "There is a fucking tracker in my arm?" (Who did I quote?)

Batman nodded his head. "I put trackers in all of you- so I will always know where you are- for situations like this."

"And you didn't think about telling us?! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Damian's face showed anger, hurt and betrayal. "I didn't tell you, because I knew you would take it out," replied Bruce calmly. His son glared at him and then turned to Tim. "And you? Why didn't you tell me?!" Tim rolled his eyes. "Calm down, Demon brat. I first wanted to look if you even had trackers, so I activated every tracker inside the house. The only ones I found were mine, the ones in the suit, the batmobile, etc. There was non in you."

"There was," corrected Bruce. He didn't sound sorry at all and that got Tim and Damian even madder. "Your trackers send different signals and you need to use different codes to activate them. (I have no idea how trackers work). Damian glared at him. "We will use these trackers to find Grayson and Todd, but then you will tell them, or I will. And I will cut mine out." He strode to the entrance of the cave and slammed the door behind him. Tim looked at Bruce with sad and betrayed eyes. "You need to fix this, if you want us to go on patrol with you anymore. We don't trust you and since you didn't tell us, I guess you don't trust is either. Get this sorted out, or there is no Batfamily anymore." Then he walked out too, followed by Barbara. The team stared awkwardly at the ground. "Leave," ordered Batman, and the team hurried out, shocked at what they just witnessed.

As soon as the Young Justice exited the cave, Bruce punched the wall. "Damn it!" He knew that he should have told his sons about the trackers, but he just wanted to protect them- he needed to protect them. He closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry," he muttered and turned to the computer. "But I don't regret it. This is my only chance to find you." He typed a few things and two red dots appeared on the screen. He smiled slightly. "Got you."

Batman called the team, Damian and Tim back into the cave. "I have found them. They are in an abondened warehouse at the docks." Wally snort. "Cliché." Artemis jabbed his ribs with her elbow. "Not helping, idiot." Wally rubbed his side and glared at the blonde archer. "Geez, just trying to lighten up the mood." Batman ignored their bickering and motioned Damian to follow him. They stepped a few feet aside and Damian glared at his father. "What? If you're not here to apologize, then I'd like to go back to the team." Batman looked at him with calm eyes. He knew he was doing the right thing now. "You can't come with us."

"What?!" Batman hold up his hand to silence his furious son. "At least not as Damian Wayne." He pointed at the showcase with the Robin suit. "I think you are ready." Damian didn't say anything for the first seconds, trying to process what Bruce just said. "Wait, but Dick-"

"Wants to be his own hero, not a sidekick. He always acts uncomfortable when people refer to him as my sidekick. I think it's time for him to move on and for you to take over his mantle." Damian just stared at him, mouth agape. "We need to talk to Dick about this, but if he agrees to it, then I will be Robin." Bruce sighed in relieve and Damian frowned at him. "You doubted that I'd say yes, because of the whole tracker thing." Bruce nodded and Damian pursed his lips. "I'm still pissed, but I know that you only wanted to protect us, that's why I didn't cut it out."

"You didn't?" Asked Bruce surprised, raising his eyebrows. Damian shook his head. "But you'll never do something like this again, ever."

"I wasn't planning to."

"Good."

Batman nodded his head and turned to the team. "Suit up."

The clock struck midnight. The fourth day of Dick's and Jason's captivity had begun and hopefully, it would be the last day, but when do things ever go according to plan?

A/N: I know, I know, I messed a bit with the actual story and everything, but I guess you can all guess what will happen with Dick next. (Remember that Jason and Tim never were Robin's, so Damian is the second Robin.)


	12. Chapter 10

Four days. Four days since Dick and Jason had been kidnapped and four days since they last saw each other. Dick groaned quietly as a sharp pain erupted in his side. The Joker had been kicking and punching him for what felt like hours now. "Again, Boy Blunder, where is she?!" Another kick to his side and Dick yelped in pain as he heard a rib crack. He glared at Joker and spat, "How many times do I have to say it before you finally get it through that thick skull of yours? I DON'T KNOW!" Blood splattered across the stone walls as the villain punched the teenage boy in the face. Dick grunted, but didn't say anything else. Apparently, Harley had been missing since the day the Joker had kidnapped them and now he was looking for his queen. Dick smirked, blood running down the corner of his mouth. "And I thought you didn't care for her. Maybe she finally realised that you were just using her and moved on." A punch to his Solar plexus. Dick gasped for air as he cought up blood. Again. This was really getting old. He glared at the scarred face in front of him and pushed himself in a sitting position. The Joker put his boot on Dick's chest and pushed him down again. The vigilante struggled, but couldn't get the Joker off him, not in his weakened state. "I will ask you one more time. Where is Harley?" Dick kept silent. He had no idea where the hell Harley was, but the Joker didn't seem to believe him. "Where does the Young Justice keep their prisoners?" Dick snort, even if it sounded somewhat painful. "We don't take prisoners. We are not like you." A punch to the side if his head. Dick groaned. Why was everything spinning? Black dots began to dance in front of his eyes and he had trouble staying conscious. "If you don't give me answers-" snarled the cold voice of the Joker next to his ear and Dick shivered as his breath touched his skin, "Then I will just have to ask your brother." It was like a cold hand squeezed Dick's heart as he heard those words. "No," he mumbled, but it was too late. The Joker had already left the cell and a tear ran down Dick's cheek as he finally welcomed the darkness.

Jason was not sure weather he was conscious or not. Every now and then, he heard voices somewhere outside his cell, but then darkness would claim him again and the next time Jason came to, the voices were gone. And the worst thing; he couldn't see. No matter how hard he tried, he wasn't able to see anything, not even his own hand. He tired to calm his racing heart. Don't panic, he inwardly scolded himself. Bruce had thought him better. Concentrate on your other senses. He listened to any sounds in- and outside the cell, but was greeted with silence. Great, I can't see, nor hear anything. Just astrous. Oh God, now I sound like Dick. And I am talking to myself. I am going crazy! The creak of a door pulled him out of his thoughts. Jason wasn't sure weather to be relieved or not, because he would have started to discuss the pros and cons of Wally's and Artemis' relationship if he was left by himself any longer, but the opening of the door normally meant pain, so...

Jason tried to push himself off the ground, but he realise that he couldn't move. His breath hitched as he started to panic again. He tried to open his mouth, but he wasn't able to. Well, that explains why I can't see anything. I have my eyes closed. Great observation skills, Jason. And I'm talking to myself again. Urgh! As the typical mad laugh hit his ears, Jason wanted to cover them, but his muscles wouldn't listen. What was happening? "Is our little Hood panicking?" Jason inwardly spat, Yeah, you know. I just can't move, but I don't expect you to understand my dilemma, considering that your brain- oh wait, you don't have one! Jason could imagine the Joker smirking and pacing around him. "Let me guess, you think of the best way to kill me, don't you?" Put a bullet in your head and splatter your brain across the walls. "You know, I really wish I could leave you like this, but I need some answers." Jason felt a prick in this neck and his limps slowly started to tingle. He twisted his fingers and groaned at the burning sensation that raced through his arm. "Oh, I forgot. This could hurt," laughed the Joker, staring in glee at the hurting boy.

After what felt like hours of pain, Jason was finally able to move again and the pain died down. "Bastard," he grumbled, pushing himself in a sitting position and leaning heavily on the wall. He looked at the maniac that still stood in front of him. Jason's eyes widened as he saw the blood staining his lilac suit and covered his mouth to stop himself from puking. He knew exactly whose blood that was. "You sick son of a bitch. What did you do?!" The Joker laughed, his red lips twisted into a gruesome smirk and Jason felt sick. "What did you do?" Mimicked the Joker Jason's question and and laughed again. "Nothing much, really. But your brother is too stubborn for his own good." Jason gritted his teeth. You think he is stubborn? You haven't met me yet, bitch. "You'll regret ever touching him," growled Jason, glaring at his tormentor. "Whatever you say. But I'm not here to talk about your brother, I want answers he wouldn't give me."

"I know little to nothing about the League or their sidekicks and I may be pissed at Batman, but I'll not betray him," spat Jason, glaring at the maniac. The Joker narrowed his eyes, but then he smirked. "You are angry with old Batsy? Is it because he couldn't get to you in time?" He snarled the last part and noticed with satisfaction the shudder that run through Jason's body. The boy averted his eyes and glared at the ground. He still had nightmares about the whole dying thing. He remembered how he laid on the blood stained ground that day, still having the hope that Bruce would save him in time, but with each blow from the crowbar and each tick from the bomb, his hope dimmed like the light of a candle, until it fully died down with the last tick. A hard kick to his side snapped him out of his thought. Jason bit his lip to stop the surprised yelp from tearing through his lips. "Pay attention, Red," scolded the Joker, shaking his head like a disappointed teacher. "Tell me, where is Harley?" Jason just raised his eyebrows. "You've lost your girlfriend?" Joker kneeled down next to him. "I only want you to answer one little question, could you do that for me?" Jason rolled his eyes. "I could, but I really am not interested in talking to psychopath with hideous hair and a really bad fashion taste, so no, I won't answer your stupid question." Another hard kick to his side and Jason couldn't stop the quiet grunt from escaping his lips. "You should learn some manners, young man."

"No thanks," wheezed Jason while trying to catch his breath. "I already went to school and it sucks." The Joker sighed in mock annoyance. "Well, then I'll just have to force you to learn. Maybe you'll answer my question after our lesson."

Harley groaned as she slowly opened her eyes. She rubbed her temples and tried to remember what had happened. The Grayson boy, a tree, Joker- "Puddin'," she yelled, while jumping up. She looked around the room she was in. She frowned. Everything looked so familiar, it looked exactly like- She spun around and gasped as she saw the boy sitting on the bed next to her. Dark blue hair, sky blue eyes and a crazy grin plastered on his face. "Don't worry, Joker is fine. I heard he has captured two of the Batboys. The bird and the Hood." Harley didn't reply, she kept her eyes on the boy, still not believing who sat in front of her. "You're back," she whispered, feeling sane for the first time in so long. The boy stood up and laid a hand on her cheek. Harley leaned into the touch, afraid that he would vanish again. "Why are you here, Castor?" She asked, looking into those blue eyes that were so much like hers. "Because of you. You and dad."

**A/N: Ahhh! Please don't kill me! What do you think? What role will Castor play? What has happened to Jason during his lesson with the Joker? How is Dick? Will the team- and especially Batman- be there in time, or will it be just like the last time- too late?**


	13. Chapter 11

Bruce sighed deeply. The team, Barbara, Tim and Damian had gathered in the Batcave, everyone suited up and ready to go.

"We need a plan. If we go for a front attack, than we will easily be outnumbered." He pointed at the map the Bat-computer was showing. "Considering that the warehouse is near the docks, we can make sure that none of Joker's thugs get away."

"I can prevent that any of them get even near the water," volunteered Aqualad and Batman nodded in approval. "Take someone with you, it's too dangerous for you alone."

"I'll go," said Wally, raising his hand.

"No, we need you to find Dick and Jason," decided Batman, shaking his head. Aqualad looked at Artemis who nodded. "I'll stay with Aqualad."

"But-" Wally was interrupted by Batman. "Yes. The rest will go in two groups, Kid Flash, Red Robin and Miss Martian will search the northern part of the warehouse and Superboy, Batgirl and Robin the southern part." Damian frown. "And what will you do?"

"I'll go after the Joker."

"He managed to escape Ahkram many times. Maybe you should put him somewhere else," pointed Aqualad out, frowning slightly. Batman shook his head, deep in thoughts. "But we can't put him in an ordinary prison and I defenitifly won't kill him, so what other option do we have?" Aqualad's eyes widened slightly and a small smile appeared on his lips as an idea struck him. "Atlantis."

"What?"

"We have prison cells filled with air in Atlantis. It would be perfect for him. The Joker won't be able to break out of this prison, because the cell is surrounded by water." Batman seemed to consider Aqualad's proposal for a second and then he nodded. "Fine. Then let's go, it's time to get my boys back and put the Joker behind bars for good."

That was when the Bat-computer started to bleep. Batman groaned in annoyance. "Who the hell is video-calling me now?!" He stomped over to the beeping object and pressed a button. The screen flickered to life and the team stiffed at the scarred face that smirked at the camera.

"Joker," growled Batman darkly, clenching his fists. He didn't miss the red color that stained his purple suit. Next to Bruce, Batgirl was glaring at the captor of her boyfriend. "What the hell did you do to Robin?" She was beyond furious and Bruce shuddered inwardly as he remembered the last time Barbara was furious at Jason- he had been in a body cast for weeks.

The Joker cackled. "My, my, someone has a temper."

"Fuck you," grumbled Damian. "She asked you a question." The Joker raised his eyebrows. "You should really watch your tongue, considering that I have your brothers under my control." Damian gritted his teeth and Barbara punched the next wall. "What the hell do you want?" The Joker seemed to be thinking for a moment. "Good question. I want a lot of things; a new suit, more hair dye for free- it's really expensive, you know-, I want a nice little villa at the beach somewhere on Hawaii, I want that the new episodes of my favorite show will finally be released, I wa-"

"Stop playing around, Joker," growled Batman, giving him his famous Bat-glare, but the Joker just shrugged it of. "Don't be such a spoilsport, Batsy, or should I say Bruce?"

The team stiffed and Batman narrowed his eyes. "You didn't just call to chit-chat, now did you?" The Joker pouted. "Oh, come on! Don't say you didn't miss me. You know, I was really surprised to find out who your brats really were." He cackled. "You should have seen Hood's face when he saw my little bird's scars. It was really delightful!" Batman stiffed and his eyes widened slightly, but he quickly covered his surprise and worry with a deep scowl. He knew about Dick's scars, about all the boys' scars, even if Dick's were the worst, considering that he was doing this the longest.

Batgirl, who looked ready to explode, gripped the edges of the table the Bat-computer was standing on and her knuckles turned white. "Just tell us what you want, or we will end the call." She sounded dangerously calm, but a fire was buring inside her eyes. The Joker sighed. "Another spoilsport, great. I just want to show you something, that's all."

He stepped aside and Batgirl hold back a choked sob. Dick and Jason were hanging in chains, feet barely touching the ground and both unconscious. Barbara didn't want to take a closer look at them- especially Dick- but she forced herself to do it anyways, they needed to know how lethal their injuries were. Dick was covered in blood, his clothes were torn and stained with red. His head hang low and his hair covered his pale face. He was still breathing, but it was shallow and ragged and Barbara was pretty sure that he had a fractured lung and a few broken ribs. He seemed to be shivering and she could see his breath coming out in soft clouds. Barbara's breath hitched and she felt a piercing pain in her palms and she realised that she was clenching her fists too hard and that her nails were drawing blood.

It felt like her insides was slowly freezing and her heart covered in ice. She started shivering, unable to hide it. Why would someone do that to her Dick? Seeing him so bloody and broken was like a knife stabbing rapidly her frozen heart.

She shifted her gaze to Jason. He didn't look so bloody, but his face was covered in bruises- most likely from a crowbar- and he had blood running down the corner of his mouth. His bangs covered his eyes and were coated in blood, the white streaks shining in a dark red color. He looked like he had a few broken bones in his arms and legs and broken ribs, too.

Next to her, Batman was ready to kill the man who had obviously tortured his sons. He never showed much emotions and he never would admit it, but he would do anything for Dick, Jason, Damian and Tim. They were his everything, his light in the dark, his lifeline and his soul. "What the fuck do you want?" The Joker laughed. A cruel and spiteful laugh. "Well Batsy, you see, I want you. It was always just about you, Bruce Wayne." Batman growled and slammed his fist on the table. "Just give me straight answer!"

"Meet me at the docks at 9 pm. Then I'll tell you what I want from you." He cackled again. "And if you decide not to show up or defy my conditions, then I'll make sure that your sons won't live long enough to see the next day." Then the Joker ended the call, leaving the Batcave in silence.

"The plan still stands," said Batman darkly, turning to the team. "Joker doesn't know that we have discovered where he is holding Dick and Jason, so we have the element of surprise." Damian looked troubled. "He'll kill you."

"Then so be it. If I have to die to save Jason and Dick, then I will."

He didn't saw the tear that ran down Damian's cheek.

A/N: The last time, Batman was too late, but who will it be this time?


	14. Chapter 12

Pain. Burning and stabbing pain. That was all he felt. That was all he knew. Richard Grayson could smell the blood, the metallic taste inside his mouth making him feel sick. His body shook, but he couldn't feel the cold, he was too numb to feel anything but the pain. Pain. Such a little word for a feeling that could break even the strongest. Dick thought he knew pain, he thought he could withstand it and not give in to it, but he overestimated himself, overestimated his pain limit. Why did it hurt so much? Why does it always have to be him? Other kids in his age would go to football games and hang out in clubs at the weekends, but he wasn't like others, now was he? He was the Boy Wonder. But he was also Richard Grayson, a 16 year old boy who had lost his parents at the age of eight and was taken in by the billionaire Bruce Wayne. He had learned long ago that the mask didn't make him another person, that he couldn't keep Dick and Robin separated, that the mask and cape were just that, a mask and a cape. The costume and 'Robin' were a part of him, but his characteristics would always stay the same, on the field as a vigilante, or at school as one of the best students.

A constant reminder of this were his scars, marks he had as Robin and as Dick. Reminders that he could never escape his past, present and future, no matter who he pretended to be.

A quiet cought pulled him out of his gloomy thought and he fully regained consciousness- which was a bad thing, considering that the pain doubled. He gasped painfully and squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to block out the feeling of being pulled apart molecule by molecule. He couldn't help the quiet whimper that tore from his cracked lips.

"Hey, Dick," croaked a quiet voice next to him. Dick carefully opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. He had been moved and was now in a not so blood stained cell like his last one. He was too weak to lift his head properly, but the aching in his arms told him that he was hanging above the floor.

He painfully turned his head to the voice that he'd heard and gasped once he saw the bruised face of his younger brother. "J-jason?" He rasped, blinking heavily. He had trouble keeping his eyelids from dropping. "Hey," relied Jason, scrunching up his face in pain. "You ok'?" Dick wanted to snort, but he quickly stopped as his throat began to burn, so he just slowly shook his head.

"And you?" He whispered, trying not to strain his vocal cords too much. Jason just gave him a 'do you really have to ask' look and shook his head as well. "Joker messed up my pretty face," he mumbled, moving his lips as little as possible, since every movement hurt.

Dick's eyes travelled over Jason's face, which was purple and green from all the bruised. "Is it-" He cought, blood splattering on his lips, "Is it like last time?"

Jason flinched barely noticeable and bit his lip. "No, not exactly." He seemed to be thinking about his next words carefully. "The last time-" He shuddered and his eyelids dropped for a second, before he forced them open again, "I was scared, scared to d-die, but now..." He took a shaky breath and scrunched his eyebrows together in pain, "Now I am scared for you, too." The brothers locked eyes and Dick smiled slightly. "Wow, the one thing we have in common." Jason made a gurgling sound and Dick guessed that it was supposed to be a snort. "Yeah, I guess. That's what we all have in common. We would kill for each other-"

"And die for each other," finished Dick his sentence. Jason nodded slightly and sighed. "I- I am not quite sure how long I can do this..." He looked down and watched as a dropped of bloof from an open wound on his stomach fell to the floor. "Hmm," mumbled Dick, agreeing with Jason, feeling drowsy. Hurry, Bruce. We won't last any longer.

Bruce knew that he probably wouldn't survive the night, but strangely, he wasn't scared. He felt at ease, knowing that he could save his boys.

"Dad," said a quiet voice from the door of his bedroom. He turned his head and saw Damian awkwardly standing in the threshold. "Come in, son." Damian nodded and silently sat next to Bruce on the bed. For a long minute, no-one said anything, but then Damian whispered, "Don't go." Bruce sighed. He had never seen Damian like this, so sad, so broken. "I don't have a choice. I need to save Dick and Jason."

Suddenly, Damian slammed his fist against the bedpost. "And what about what I need? I need you! You are all I have!" Bruce stared in shock at his son's face. He could see how hard he tried to keep the tears away and it were situations like this, when Bruce remembered that Damian was only ten. "It's okay to cry."

"You never cry."

That cought Bruce off guard. He knew that he never showed much emotions, but surely the boys didn't think they needed to shut their emotions out, right? He sighed deeply and put one arm around his youngest and hold him close to his chest. "I do, I just never let anyone see."

"That is what makes you strong."

"No," corrected Bruce, "It is what makes me lonely. To keep my emotions in check when I have to protect others, like Dick and Jason now, that's what makes me strong."

Damian took a shaky breath and looked into his father's eyes with tears finally rolling down his cheek. "You are all I have," he repeated and Bruce hold him even closer to his chest. "That's not true and you know that." Damian snort humorlessly, more tears spilling out of his eyes and wetting Bruce's shirt, but the man couldn't care less. "That's not the same. You are my father. The only one blood related to me who I still trust." Bruce chuckled slightly. "What do they always say, blood is thicker than water? Well, I guess they are wrong, aren't they? Damian hesitated for a second, then he nodded. "Yeah, you are right."

A/N: Ahhhh, Daddybats!


	15. Chapter 13

Bruce looked in the mirror as he put on the cowl.

That was one thing he never understood about Dick, how he was Robin and Dick at the same time, one person.

With the cowl, he was Batman, without it, he was Bruce. It was so much easier to keep those two parts of him apart, than to allow them to become one. When he was Batman, all he had to worry about were his partners and the villains, not his problems at Wayne Enterprise, nor his poorly attempts to be a good father. He could just be a dark, emotionless shadow, not a real person.

To his surprise- and worry- he saw that his eyes were watery. He didn't want to leave his sons, this world, Gotham. For the first time, he actually was Bruce Wayne under a cowl, because Batman didn't have sons, he had partners, but Batman was giving his life for his sons'.

He glared at his reflection and saw how his eyes dried again. He wouldn't beg, would fight back, he would just take whatever the Joker had in store for him. For Dick and Jason.

He strode out of the room and down to the Batcave. Once he saw the team, Red Robin and Damian in his Robin suit, he stopped, still hidden by the shadows.

"We can't just let him go! He'll get himself killed!" Bruce smiled sadly at his youngest son's desperate voice. He listened as Tim sighed. "We can't do anything but try to find Dick and Jason and free them, so Batman can fight the Joker without having to worry about them."

"But-"

"Tim is right," interrupted Batman, stepping out of the dark.

"You'll find Dick and Jason and then you'll bring them here and pitch them up."

"But what about you?" Asked Damian with a deep frown, his little hand balled to fists.

"Yes," said Tim, arms crossed. "We will not just run away, while you fight the Joker. No way. The team can bring them back, but Dami and I will stay."

Bruce stared Tim in the eye, who stared right back, a challenging glint in his eyes. "Fine," said Batman finally, breaking eye contact.

He glanced at the clock. 08:30 pm. "We have to go. The warehouse where Jason and Dick are held is a three houses away from the spot where I'm suppos to meet with the Joker. You habe to be careful that he doesn't see you."

Aqualad nodded. "Don't worry, Batman. We've got this. Just try to stay alive long enough for us to find Robin and Jason." The caped crusader gave a curt nod and motioned the teens to get into the Batmobile.

No-one said anything as the lights of Gotham raced past them. Batman took in every detail of his home city. So much had happened here. Bad things, like his parents' death, Robin and the others- except for Damian- getting kidnapped so often, but also good things, like taking in Dick and adopting Jason and Tim. He sighed. Why hadn't he adopted Dick yet? The boys always say that they are Bruce's adopted sons, even Dick, but he could see the look of hurt in his eyes every time they talked about the strange family situation. Bruce sighed. If he would survive this, then he would officially adopt Dick.

The night was dark, clouds covering the stars. The only thing that was heard was the soft sound of water against stone.

They had reached the docks a few minutes ago and Batman had said goodbye to Damian and Tim. They both had been at the verge of tears, but they were strong, they could do this. After Damian had- to Tim's surprise- hugged Bruce to death (not literally, of course), he had told them to go and start searching for Dick and Jason.

Now he stood alone, watching the small waves as they reflected the pale light the moon was giving, barley visible through the dark clouds. Usually, he would have enjoyed the dark, but now it felt threatening. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the salt water for maybe the last time.

He stood like this for a few minutes, eyes closed and body stiff, until the clicking of a gun pulled him out of his stupor. He slowly turned around, facing the man in front of him. The scarred red lips twisted into a smug smirk. "Joker." Batman's voice was calm, no sign of fear or regret. "Where are Dick and Jason?" He cackled. "Don't worry, Batsy. Once you did as I say, I will let them go."

He raised the gun, pointing it at Bruce's head. The man didn't make a move, just stared into the madman's eyes.

"Shoot," he growled, his heart beating at a normal rate. He wasn't afraid to die. He never has been.

As the Joker didn't make a move, Batman intensified his glare. "Shoot," he snarled once again.

Suddenly, the Joker burst out laughing, slightly lowering the gun and holding his stomach with his free hand. "You're so funny, Batsy."

He pointed the gun at Batman's head once again and slowly walked around him. Bruce didn't move as he felt the cold metal against the back of his head. "There is more then one way to die, Batman," whispered the crazy voice of the Joker, chuckling. "Before I end this, we should pay a visit to your sons, don't you think?"

A/N: What do you think does the Joker mean with 'There is more than one way to die'? Comment what you think is going to happen next.


	16. Chapter 14

Artemis and Kaldur had left the team and ran to the docks. They stayed out of Joker's and Batman's sight and they knew they couldn't interfere, but they still had a plan. They had to stay guard at the docks, even if things had gotten a lot more complicated.

"I am just waiting to hear a gunshot," muttered Aqualad, glancing at his companion. The blonde archer nodded her head. "Yeah. We should do something! Not just waiting here to hear the shot that will kill Batman." Kaldur sighed mournful. He wasn't close to Batman- none of them except for Robin were- but they still considered him... as part of the team? He sighed again and ran a hand through his short hair.

"We can't do anything. If you were in his place and your sons would have been kidnapped and tor-" he choked. That was still Robin they were talking about, their little, carefree bird- "if they had been abused, what would you do?" Artemis looked away, clenching her fists in anger. "I'd do everything to get them back."

"Exac-"

Suddenly, Artemis clamed a hand over his mouth and pointed to their right. Aqualad narrowed his eyes to see in the darkness that covered so many crimes. Him and Artemis were hidden by shadows, so they quietly observed the scene that played in front of them.

The Joker was holding Batman at gunpoint, forcing him to walk in front of the villain. Aqualad gasped quietly. "Where are they going?" He whispered, motioning Artemis to follow them. She shrugged and jumped on one of the many windowsills without making a sound. She climbed until she reached the roof of the warehouse and looked down to see Aqualad following her lead. A second later, he stood next to her.

"Could you warn me the next time?" Artemis grinned. "Had a hard time keeping up with me?" He just rolled his eyes and looked back down, eyes searching for the Joker. "There," he pointed at the green-haired man. "Can you hear what they are saying?" Asked Artemis, standing dangerously close to the edge. "Hm," mumbled Aqualad, staining his ears.

"C'mon, Batsy, aren't you excited to see the little Birdie and Hoody again?"

Aqualad couldn't see Batman's face, but he was sure that the hero was glaring daggers at the dark. "If you want to kill me, then don't do it in front of my sons." That bone chilling laugh escaped the Joker's scarred lips once again. "Don't be so impatient, Dummy. Just wait for what I've planned for you and your little brats."

Artemis grabbed Kaldur's arm. "The team is in the warehouse. We have to get them out before the Joker sees them." Aqualad nodded and they quietly slipped through one of the broken windows.

'Guys' called Artemis through the mind link, her worry infiltrating everyone's mind. 'What is it, Arty?' Questioned Wally, clearly concerned for his girlfriend. 'The Joker is bringing Batman to Robin and Red Hood to kill him in front of their eyes' explained Artemis. She bit her lip as she felt the rage that came from Damian and Tim in waves. 'We've got to follow them and stop that maniac' growled Red Robin, gritting his teeth. He was so going to kill that bastard for ever messing with his family. He'd make him pay for ever touching Dick and Jason. He'd make him suffer for ever killing Jason all those years ago.

Dick didn't know when they had been lowered to the floor or by whom, but he welcomed the slightly less painful position. His arms weren't aching too much and his head didn't throb as hurtful as the last time he was awake. But he was still in agony. His wounds had stopped bleeding, by he didn't even try to move, because he was pretty sure that the crust that covered the knife slashes and the skin that broke when the Joker had hit him with the crowbar- Dick really started to understand why Jason hated those things- would break and he'd start bleeding like a waterfall again, a really bloody waterfall.

He sighed softly and tried to get back to the merciful sleep that allowed him to escape the pain that raced through his whole body.

"Dick?" Muttered a week voice from behind. "Are you awake?" The boy licked his dry, cracked lips. "Hm. You holding up, Jay?" He asked, eyes still closed. He was so tired.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Dick could see straight through his lie.

"Don't lie to me."

"Like you did when you kept your scars a secret?"

"That's different."

"How?"

Dick didn't know how to reply. His brother had a point. "If we get out if here, then please don't tell the others."

"Why? Don't you trust them?"

Dick shook his head, but bit the inside of his lip to stop the quiet whimper that wanted to come out. Moving hurt, even if it was such a little movement as shaking his head.

"I am the youngest of the team and I don't have any powers. I can't allow myself to appear weak."

He heard a low chuckle. "I thought you were supposed to be the smart one, Dick." He could imagine Jason rolling his eyes at him. Dick tried to open his eyes, but they were just too heavy. "What's that supposed to mean," he grumbled, still fighting to finally open his crystal blue orbs.

"Scars don't make you weak. They just show that you've been through things no-one should have gone through and survived it. Yes, they remind you- me, too- of the pain, the death, but try to remember that you're still here. Don't be ashamed to show who you are, Dick, because the scars are a part of you, whether you like it or not. They tell the story of your life, the ups and downs through all this mess."

Dick was silent for a moment. "You're smarter than you look, Jay."

"I know."

Dick mentally rolled his eyes, but a small smile tugged at his lips.

"If you truly believe in what you've just said, than why are you always wearing long sleeve shirts?"

"You've noticed?" Dick could hear the guarded tone in his younger brother's voice.

"You didn't answer my question."

"I- You were strong, through whatever happened to you. You survived, I didn't. My scars don't show strength, they just show defeat."

"Says the one who's lying right... behind me, I guess. I can't open my eyes, so..."

Again the dry chuckle. "You know what I mean. I died. I... gave up."

Dick sighed. "Don't we all at one ponit?"

Jason didn't answer his question. "Let's make a deal," he finally said. Dick agreed sceptically and Jason continued. "When- and not if- when we get out of here, we'll both stop hiding our scars, deal?"

Dick smiled slightly. "Deal." Since when Jason could be sensitive, he didn't know, but he liked that new side of him.

He froze when he heard the door open. Batman's training had taught him how to appear calm and collected, even if he was scared or hurt, like now. His heart beat rapidly, but his breathing was regular. The breath in his neck told him that Jason was doing the same. "Wakey, wakey, Bird boys. Big old daddy is hear to say hello."

Dick stiffed as he heard that Bruce was there and he could hear the Joker cackle. "I knew you were awake. Come on, Bird Brain, open that baby blue eyes of yours." As Dick didn't reply, the Joker crouched down next to him, gun still pointed at Batman, even though Dick couldn't see that. "If you don't obey, Robin, then I'll make sure you lose another parent."

Dick gritted his teeth. He slowly opened his eyes, even if he had trouble focusing on the face in front of him. "That's a good boy." He patted Dick's head like he was some kind of dog and Dick grimaced in disgust.

"Now to the other boy!" Said the Joker excitedly, clapping his hands. "No need to yell, old man, I'm already awake," growled Jason, struggling to open his eyes as well.

"Yay, family reunion," squealed the Joker. He grabbed Dick by the shoulders and yanked him in a sitting position. Dick yelped in pain as he felt a few cuts reopening and squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear Batman's growl as he was propped up against the wall. He breathed heavily as he tried to get the pain under control. Next to him, he could hear Jason grunt as the Joker sat him against the wall as well.

"Now," said the Joker, motioning Batman to step forward with a wave of his gun. "Dear Batsy here has agreed to... how do I put it? Help me out here, will you, Brucy?"

Dick and Jason stiffed and a pang of quilt raced through Dick. It was his fault the Joker had figured out their identities.

Batman growled as he slowly turned his face to look at the maniac. "I agreed to do whatever it takes to get Robin and Red Hood back." His voice was cold and unwavering. "Yes, yes!" Chirped the Joker, giggling like mad. "Now I remember." Then he smirked. "Ready to hold up your part of the deal."

Bruce glanced at Dick and Jason. He hated to see them hurt, but he hated the shocked and desperate looks on their faces even more as they shook their heads. "Yes," he said, giving all his attention to his soon to be killer, trying to ignore his sons' pleadings. "Do what you have to do." The Joker looked at him for a second, then he burst out laughing, clutching his stomach. "Oh, that was good. You thought I was going to kill you? I already told you that there is more than one way to die." He regained his composure and held the gun at Batman's face once more, craziness glistening in his eyes. Then he turned the weapon around, so the handle was facing the vigilante. "Kill me," he said. "Kill me and your sons can walk free, defy me and they'll die. It's your choice."

A/N: Ahh! Please don't kill me. Did any of you see that coming? Comment below!


	17. Chapter 15

Italics are flashbacks. This chapter is written a bit differently from every other chapter, but I hope you like my idea.

Jason wasn't sure what to feel. Glee that the Joker would finally leave this world? Anger, because of the hesitation in Bruce's eyes? Sympathy for his former father-figure, because he would betray his oldest rule, his morals, himself?

He didn't dare to breath. Everything seemed frozen. He could feel Dick's unease next to him.

Jason knew that, if Batman did kill Joker, he would be broken, falling into a darkness he couldn't escape from. And even if Jason wished more than anything, that the Joker would finally find his end, he also knew that Bruce wouldn't be the only one broken.

Dick, Tim and Damian would lose their father, their hero and mentor.

He followed Joker's movements with his eyes, as the villain pushed the gun into Batman's hand. "Do. It."

"No." The gun slid across the floor and landed next to Dick as Batman shook his head. "I am not killing you."

There it was again, the cold laugh. It send chills down the hero's spines. "Oh, believe me, you'll." He took out two other guns. Where the hell does he hide all those guns?! He handed one to Batman once again, who was about to drop it, but hesitated as the Joker pointed the other gun at Jason's head. "I told you the rules, Batsy." His voice, so cold and emotionless. "Kill me, or they die." His finger hovered over the trigger and Bruce strengthened his grip the weapon that had been forced into his hands.

Jason couldn't breath. He felt his heart squeeze painfully as he stated at the gun in front of him. He normally wasn't afraid of guns, or being hold gunpoint, but...

Not the Joker. Everything but the Joker. His breath hitched as he stared at the yellow teeth the Joker's grin was showing. He knew that grin, remembered it clearly.

The crowbar hit his chin with a sickening crack. Jason bit his lip to stop himself from screaming, but he couldn't help the pained grunt that escaped his throat as he fell to the side, his weak knees unable to hold him up any longer. It hurt. It hurt so badly. Where was Batman? "Wow. That looked like it really hurt." Jason growled inwardly at the glee and satisfaction in his tormentors voice. That sick bastard. Suddenly, he felt like he couldn't breath. He stared laughing and red stained his chin. He was bleeding on the inside. He felt fear squeeze his heart. He didn't want to die, not now, not like this, but he wouldn't plead, not in a thousand years. He weakly glared up at the villain hovering above him, the bloodied crowbar firmly clutched in one hand. The Joker grinned. A grin that promised more pain, pain and torture. A grin that would forever stay in his mind.

Joker's laugh rang threw the cell and Batman gripped the gun even tighter as he saw the agonized expression of his son. Yes, even if Jason didn't see him as his father anymore, he would always be his son. Joker grinned wickedly. "Looks like the little pumpkin has some kind of déjà-vu.

Another blow from the crowbar, more blood and more pain. Jason grunted and squeezed his eyes shut as he waited for the next blow. Metal collided with his soft skin. Skin broke and blood flooded to the cold floor. Another agonized grunt. Why wouldn't he stop? Or just kill him? And where was Batman? The next blow was harder than the others and Jason bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. He wouldn't scream. Never. He tried to move, but a searing pain flared threw his chest. A broken rip, maybe more. He blinked away the treacherous tears. Where was Batman? Where was Bruce? He squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to ease the pain, but only ended up laughing blood, again. The broken rip had probably punctured his lung, making blood flood his windpipe. He laid on his back, what made it even harder to breath, but he couldn't bring himself to turn to the side. He knew that he needed to get the blood out, or he'd suffocate, but he couldn't move, eyes fixed on his captor. He breathed heavily, as the clown spoke up once more. "Oh, now hang on, that looked like it hurt a lot more." There was that devilish smile again. Jason shuddered at the anticipation in his voice. He knew that the Joker would put him through a lot pain, before this would end. Jason's eyes followed Joker's movements as he tapped the crowbar into his hand. "So, let's try to clear this up, ok Pumpkin? What hurts more, A-" Jason almost screamed as the crowbar shattered his collarbone. His eyes glazed over for a moment for the pain was too much, but then he took a shake breath and tried to pull himself together. Bruce would come. He always did. "or B?" A blow to his lower stomach and the air was forced out of him. For a terrifying second, he couldn't breath. It was all roo much, the pain, the blood, the laughter. But he knew that the Joker wouldn't just kill him, not without Batman to see it happen. He was pulled out of his thoughts by another blow with the crowbar to the side of his head. "Forehand-" A strike to his cheek. "Or backhand?" Jason groaned in pain as he felt his cheekbone shatter. He couldn't move his face without jolts of pain cursing through his body. He wanted it to end, one way or another. Another blow to his shoulder and he heard a sickening pop. He tried to bite the inside of his cheek to stop the agonized scream from escaping his cracked and blood stained lips, but only ended up in even more pain. Then he heard the laughter. The cold, maniacal and cruel laughter.

Batman pointed his gun at Joker's head. He wouldn't let Jason die, never again. He owned it to him. Batman didn't even want to know what the Joker had done to him before the bomb went off, but the body was... Well, it told Batman everything he needed to know. Jason had been tortured.

Joker cackled and pushed the gun closer to Jason's temple, crouching down in front of him. "Not so cocky anymore, right, Hood?"

"I just don't want to waist my breath on you." Talking hurt, but he wouldn't give the Joker the satisfaction of seeing him cower away like an injured bird.

Jason laid on his stomach, his hands painfully bound behind his back. His shoulder ached. He slowly managed to turn to the side. It hurt, but Jason hadn't given up, not yet. "Fuck you," he mumbled, his eyes betraying no pain.

The Joker laughed and stood back up. "You haven't lost your fire. Yet."

The Prince of crime keeled down next to Jason's head and made choking sounds to mock the bird. He grabbed his raven coloured hair and whispered maliacly, "A little louder, Lambchop, I think you may have a collapsed lung, that always impedes the oratory." Jason growled at the mockery. He smirked slightly as he pulled blood and salvia to the front of his mouth and spit it with all his might at the white face of his torturer.

Batman growled as Joker punched Jason in the face and his head jerked back against the wall. He groaned and let his head loll to the side. Batman put his finger on the trigger. "Don't you dare touch him again."

Bad idea. Joker's face contorted in rage and he grabbed Jason's hair in an iron grip and slammed his head in the ground. Jason yelped in pain and suppressed a pitiful whimper. The ground pressed painful in his broken cheek bone and he gritted his teeth. Jason could almost feel his hope and will slowly fading away. Why hadn't Bruce come yet? Didn't he care at all? Movement pulled him out of his sad thoughts. "Now that was rude. The first Boy Blunder had some manners." He whipped the mix of gore and salvia off his cheek and glared at Jason, who smirked at the green haired clown, blood running down the corner of his mouth and dropping off his chin. The maniac scrunched his eyebrows together, as if he was thinking about something. "I suppose I am going to have to teach you a lesson so you can better follow in his footsteps." Then he made a grimace that was probably supposed to be an or-not face and said, "Nah, I am just gonna keep beating you with this crowbar." He but a foot on Jason's back to keep him in place. Jason stared at him defiantly and when Joker raised his crowbar, he closed his eyes, accepting his fate. Bruce wouldn't come.

Dick tried to swallow the forming lump in his throat. He felt so useless. A gun was held in Jason's face, Bruce looked torn and the Joker was laughing senselessly. He didn't know what to do, but he knew he wasn't just going to let his family fall apart because of some clown with homicidal issues.

Joker opened the door of the warehouse and the cold wind made Jason shiver. The Joker had continued beating him for what felt like hours. He had lost track of how many broken bones he had and if he even did as much as twitch a finger, his whole body would erupt in burning pain. He didn't cry though, he refused to. "Okay, kiddo. I gotta go. It's been fun, all right?" As Jason didn't reply, he shrugged. "Well, maybe a smidge more fun for me than you. I can only guess since you are being awful quiet. Anyway, be a good boy, finish your homework and be in bed by nine and hey, please tell the big man I said 'hello'." A shudder ran down Jason's spine. Something was defenitifly wrong. The door shut with a loud and awful concluding sound.

Jason squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to forget the memories. He knew what would come.

Even after the door closed, the hurt bird could still hear the sadistic laughter echoing through his ears, driving him crazy. He took a shuddery and hurtful breath and slowly peeled his eyes open. Jason rolled on his back, teeth gritted together. Then he rolled backwards and put his head on the cool ground, lingering in that position for a second, trying to catch his breath. God, it hurt. He pulled his feet through his bound hands to get the handcuffs in front of him. He smiled slightly at the small victory. He wasn't totally defensless after all. He slowly rose to his feet, hunched over and trying to keep his balance. He took a shaky step, but his broken legs couldn't hold his weight and he fell with a muffled scream. He stayed on the ground for a moment, gathering his remaining strength and began to crawl over to the door, his eyes shining with determination. He would not just bleed out. After what felt like forever, he finally reached the metallic door. A spark of hope ignited inside of him. Maybe he could get out, maybe the Joker underestimated him. His hope was soon crushed as he found the door locked. "No," he muttered, pressing his back against the cold metal, injuring himself even more, but he didn't care, he needed to get out. With a heavy sight, he realised that he couldn't get the door open. He looked at all the blood he'd lost, the blood that stained the floor. Then he heard it.

Jason had begun to tremble, caught up in his flashback. Dick and Bruce glanced at each other in panic, not knowing what exactly was going on. Joker just smirked in satisfaction at the impact he had on the boy. Dick's stomach churned as he saw the look the clown gave his little brother. Said maniac smirked. "Last chance, Batsy." Batman trembled ever so slightly, only his hand didn't. He held the gun directly at Joker's temple, but didn't pull the trigger. He just couldn't. Joker's gun was still aimed at Jason and Dick knew that one of them would pull the trigger soon.

A bomb. The Joker had left him with a fucking bomb.

Tick.

Come on, Bruce, hurry. Please. I know you can make it in time, you always do.

Tick.

Please hurry up. I don't want to die. Not like this. Where are you?

Tick.

Dick, Bruce, whoever is looking for me. Please find me. Now.

Tick.

They'll come, they'll come. He'll come. He always does.

Tick.

Hurry. Please hurry. Why aren't you here yet?

Tick.

Everything hurts. You promised, Bruce. Promised you'd always come in time.

Tick.

WHERE ARE YOU? Please hurry. I need you.

Tick.

No, no, no. Why aren't you coming? You promised!

Tick.

I'm sorry.

Boom!

Bang! A shot rang through the cell.

A/N: So, flashbacks. Good idea or not? How did you like this chapter? And who pulled the trigger??


	18. Chapter 16

Bruce dropped the gun. The unused gun. He felt like he couldn't breath as panic swelled up inside him.

Joker's eyes were wide and started to glaze over. His hands gingerly touched the steadily growing red circle on his chest. His breath got ragged and he started coughing. A red drop appeard on his lips, then another and another.

Jason couldn't breath. He couldn't comprehend what just happened. His mouth was opened in a shocked 'O'.

Joker's legs gave away and he fell with a surprised sound, a laugh and scream at the same time. This was not what he had expected, but a win either way he looked at it, maybe even better.

Dick shook. What had he done. His hands trembled and he felt cold, so cold.

Bruce's eyes found Dick's.

Jason fixed his gaze on the gun that slowly fell out of Dick's grip.

The gun Batman had thrown away earlier.

The doors were pushed open and the Young justice team, Batgirl, Red Robin and Robin, who had heard the gunshot, entered, looking slightly beaten up. "Scarecrow is down."

Then eight eyes landed on the bleeding man on the ground.

Silence.

"What happened."

Three guns. One next to Batman, one next to Dick and one next to Jason.

"Who..."

"I."

Everyone snapped their heads in Batman's direction. "I killed him."

The words sounded muffled in Dick's ears. He had killed. Dick had killed someone. His breath quickened and he began to panic.

What would everyone think of him?

Warm hands on his arm. "It's okay, Dicky-bird." Only a whisper. "Bruce took the blame." Jason's voice sounded far away.

He began to tremble harder, eyes unfocused. "No." Barely loud enough for Jason to hear. A whimper. "I didn't aim for... I didn't want to... Not lethal..."

Then everything went black and Dick slumped against Jason, who winced at the extra pressure on his chest, but put his arms around his brother nevertheless, pulling him as close as possible.

Thirty minutes earlier with the team:

The team met a few minutes after Artemis had warned them that the Joker was advancing their location and were now discussing what to do. Red Robin, Batgirl and Robin- it still was weird for Artemis to call anyone but their Robin Robin- wanted to follow Joker and Batman, so they would lead them straight to their destination, not caring about possible consequences, but Aqualad was reasoning against them.

"It's too dangerous. Non of us is bullet proof, except for Superboy and he and Kid Flash are also the only ones who would be fast enough to dodge a bullet." Damian crossed his arms and growled, "We are very much capable of dodging bullets. I was trained by the League of Assassins and by the Batman himself, so do not underestimate me." Aqualad didn't flinch at the mini bat-glare directed his way. "Robin got shot, too and he trained longer than you." Damian's glare intensified. "If you do not intend to find my br- Grayson and Todd, then step out of the way, because I will not hesitate to hurt you if you try to stop me."

Tim rolled his eyes, shifting his weight slightly as he laid a hand on Damian's shoulder, who shrugged it off. "Don't touch me," he hissed, teeth bared. Tim wasn't fazed. "Could you stop fighting. Damian and I will go, wether you like it or not. You can either help us, or turn a blind eye and do nothing as your teammate gets killed." There was a clear warning in his tone. He would stop at nothing to get to his brothers and if the team stood in his way, then he'd take them down.

Aqualad pursed his lips, but before he could say anything, Wally decided to stop this argument. "We will all go, no discussion. Rob would do the same for us." Aqualad agreed reluctantly. It was not like he didn't want to save Dick and Jason, he just didn't want anyone else to get hurt. He was the leader after all, so he had the responsibility to keep his team save. He would always give his own life, but he knew that that wasn't an option, not now.

They were so caught up in their discussion, that they didn't hear the quiet pffff of eight smoke bombs that released their toxic content in the room, until it was too late.

"Why the hell is it getting misty inside a building?!" Asked Wally, stepping away from the white gas nervously, his feet twitching as if to say 'We are ready to run at any second.'

Artemis narrowed her eyes to see through the thickening fog while notching an arrow. Her eyes landed on one of the bombs where the gas had been kept in. She quickly pressed her lips together and hold her breath as she read the initials carved into the metal. JC/FG. "Everybody, don't breath! This is fear gas!" She screamed, drawing back the string of her bow and scanned the room to look for an exit, but the fog was too thick now and she wasn't able too see more than what was right in front of her. She could feel her heart beating rapidly, as her lungs beginning to protest, demanding for air. She took a few steps back, but tripped over something, falling to the floor with a yelp, inhaling the toxin in the process. Then she saw nothing.

She opened her eyes and took a deep, hasty breath. Her head was throbbing and she gently messaged her temples, looking around. She frowned once she saw that she was standing on a building, looking down at the deserted streets of Gotham.

It seemed almost... peaceful. The light illuminating the city, the dark night bright through the full moon. "It's beautiful, isn't it?" She slightly turned her head at the familiar voice. "Hm," She hummed in agreement, not taking her eyes off the city. "Why are you here? Shouldn't you be out with Batman?" Robin stood next to her, his gaze catching every little movement in his city. He didn't answer her, just smiled sadly. Artemis frowned. Something was off about him, she just couldn't quite place a finger on it. Robin crouched down at the edge of the building and let his feet dangle over the edge. He didn't face her as she sat down beside him, his face was hidden by his black hair. "I don't want to leave," he whispered. Artemis cocked her eyebrow in confusion. "Why would you leave?" His head twitched to the side over so slightly, as if he wanted to look at her, but something was holding him back. "They fell, you know. I love being in the air, flying around Gotham, jumping from rooftop to rooftop. It's the only place where I actually feel safe, but at the same time, it's the only thing I'm terrified of. Dying like they did. Falling." Artemis didn't need to ask who he was talking about, she just knew. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, shivering at how cold he felt. "You don't wear the name Robin for nothing. Birds don't fall, you've proven that the night your parents died. You never fell and you never will. I know you and I believe in you." She smiled and gave his shoulder an encouraging squeeze. "Thank you." He paused for a second. "You'll fail." Artemis froze, her heart forgetting to beat for one second. "What?" She asked sharply, taking her hand away. "You'll fail, Artemis. That's what you're afraid of, isn't it? Failing everyone, becoming just like your father and sister. Failing the team, betraying them. That's what you're afraid of and that's why you'll fail." She tried to swallow, but her muscles didn't listen to her. "Why are you saying that?" The corner of his lips twitched and Artemis slowly stood up, backing away from the still sitting Boy Wonder. "You're strong, Artemis, but you are denying who you are."

"I am not like them." She had finally recovered from her shock and anger replaced her confusion. Her eyes were cold and her voice laced with ice. "And whatever you say won't change that, so back off." Robin shook his head, pushing himself off the ground, his back still facing her. "You aren't listening, Artemis. You aren't like them, but you still let them control you. You are afraid that if you even make one mistake, or step out of line even the tiniest bit, that the tram will kick you out, thinking that you are just like the rest of your family, not trustworthy. But if you want them to trust you, you have to trust them first." Artemis blinked. She didn't know what to say. Was it true, did she really not trust the team enough to actually be herself? Did she even knew who she really was? "They will accept you the way you are, because-" suddenly, he began to cough and toppled over, clutching his chest. Artemis was pulled out of her stupor and tan to his side, catching him before he could fall and slowly lowered him to the ground. "Robin?!" She asked, gently rubbing soothing circles on his back, looking around for anyone to help, but there was no one in sight. A coughing fit ragged his body again and Artemis took his hand in hers, but recoiled as she felt something sticky and warm on her fingers. Blood. Her stomach churned and she began to panic. "Robin! What is wrong?!" He lifted his head, his eyes still covered by his midnight black bangs. Artemis almost gagged as he grinned, blood running down his chin and dropping to the floor. "You'll fail if you hold back." His face twisted and he bit his lip; hard. "Robin? Robin?!"

"Back," he gasped out, caughing again and staining Artemis' green suit. The archer quickly stood up a bit taller and pulled back Robin's shirt. She covered her mouth as a long, ragged cut appeared, running from his left shoulder blade to his right hip bone. "Oh God, what is happening?" She looked back at her friend's face. "I die."

"What, but why?!" Her breath quickened as she started to hyperventilate. This couldn't be happening. She was right there, but unable to do anything. She was failing. She ran her already blood red hands over her face, leaving marks on her mask. "Blood on you hands," squeezed Robin out, smirking up at her. "My blood." Artemis dropped to her knees, hugging them to her chest, just like she did when she was a little girl, hiding from her father. She was a failure, he had told her that over and over again, until she finally believed it. "No, no, no, no," she muttered, rocking herself back and forth. Her hands shook as her pulled at her hair, the only sound being her ragged breathing and Robin's struggling breath. "Pull yourself together." She looked up with watery eyes. "What?" She whispered, shocked at what she saw. The blood had disappeared from Robin ande stood at the edge of the building once again, but he wasn't wearing his usual Robin costume, instead, he wore the same outfit he'd worn during their mission st Haly's Circus. A performers suit. "Dick," she whispered, whipping away the tears, smearing both, tears and blood on her forest green mask. "What are you doing?"

He smiled at her and his crystal blue orbs shined softly in the city's light. And then it hit her what had been so strange about him the whole time. He wasn't wearing a mask. "Safe me." Artemis' tried to stand up, her legs shaky and she supported herself on the wall. "What do you mean?" Dick stepped closer to the edge. "Don't!" Yelled Artemis as she took a step forward, but she felt as if her legs were made of jelly. "You can still do it, Arty. Just remember what I've told you."

"Why are you doing this?" She was close to tears, but non would fall. "Me? You are doing this to yourself. I am just an imagination of your subconscious. I'm not real." And then he jumped. Artemis screamed and lunged forward, her fingertips brushing Dick's. Then she heard the sickening crack of shattering bones and the smell of blood filled the air once more. And Artemis screamed.

Her eyes flew open and she looked around in panic. Her heart was racing and she felt like she'd been run over with a truck. She suppressed the urge to groan in pain and closed her eyes once again, calming herself down by counting to ten and taking deep and steady breath. After she reached ten, she slowly blinked her eyes open, but didn't move. She knew that Scarecrow had to be near by. She tightened her grip around her bow which she didn't let go during her nightmare. She glanced around, but kept her head steady. It was hard to see through the gas, even if it was slowly fading away, so she concentrated in her other senses. She could hear the quiet whimpers of her friends and scowled deeply. She hated fear gas. And then she heard it, a quiet and dark chuckled, coming from her right. She smirked as she slowly, careful not to alert the man, moved her bow with the already notched arrow. She breathed in threw her nose and released the air through her mouth again as she steadied the bow. Artemis still hadn't moved her head, but she could see Scarecrow from the corner of her eyes and she could hear his insane chuckles.

And then she fired the arrow. She heard wailing and quickly jumped to her feet, even if she felt a bit dizzy thanks to the gas that still hadn't fully vanished. She slowly and carefully walked over to a knocked out Dr. Crane, who was snorting on the ground. "Tranquilizer arrows are more effective than I thought." She kicked his side, but he didn't response, only turned over and curled in a ball, continuing to snort loudly. "Disgusting," she muttered.

Then she walked over to the other teens and tried to wake them up. It took some time, but in the end, everyone was up and okay. A bit shaken up, but no one would suffer any permanent damage. "I officially hate fear gas," announced Wally, running his hands up and down his trembling arms and shivered. Tim nodded. "Yeah, defenitifly not my favorite weapon to be used against me, but you'll get used to it." The team looked at him sceptically, but Tim just shrugged. "I am taking from experience, it gets better."

And then they heard the gunshot.

A/N: I know that it wasn't the typical fear gas vision, but I kinda liked it, it was something different and yeah...

DICK SHOT THE JOKER!!! What do you think??


	19. Chapter 17

Castor crouched down at the edge of a rooftop. His eyes scanned his surroundings, his ears listening for the slightest sounds. He smirked as he heard a bang from a few warehouses to his left. Every other person wouldn't have been able to detect the sound, but Castor wasn't normal, he was trained.

That was the main difference between him and his father. The Joker's power laid within his tricks and traps, not martial art. Castor was a master of both.

He smirked as he saw saw the heroes come out of the building. Aqualad was carrying a knocked out and bloodied Robin and Superboy Red Hood, who didn't look much better than his partner. His grin faltered as he saw who Batman was holding. Green hair, now coated in red and the once purple suit. "That is unexpected," he muttered.

Then, he stared chuckling, clutching his stomach as he was full out laughing. He whipped his eyes as a creepy grin spread across his lips. "What a turn of events." Castor didn't feel sorry for his father. That man was the reason he hadn't seen his mother for so long.

When he was fourteen, Joker had send him on one of his little missions and said that he wasn't allowed home until he had completed it. Said mission took two years to finish, but he didn't go home after that no, he was found by someone. This someone trained him. At first, Castor was sceptical, but his teacher told him that, if he completed his training, then he wouldn't have to let himself be pushed aroud anymore, he could finally stand up to his father and could start a better life with his mother. That was seven years ago. Now he was twenty-three and finally ready to come back to the city where he was born.

He had a few reasons to be back, actually, one, his mother. Even if he detested his father, Harley meant the world to him. He couldn't understand why she stayed with the Joker. He was treating her like dirt when all she wanted was his attention and love. He'd make it up for her. He knew that she never stopped looking for him and that was all he could ever ask for.

Two, revenge. Not on his father no, on someone who had betrayed him a long time ago. Castor frowned. He should be around... sixteen by now. Some would say it is stupid to loath a kid that is seven years younger than oneself, but Castor didn't care. He'd make him suffer.

Three, his little project. Even after he had finished his training two years ago, he never lost contact with his master. They stayed in touch and one and a half year ago started to work on a project called W.I.N.G.. They decided to buy a building here in Gotham to work on their experiment. His master was already here, but kept a low profile, so he wouldn't be on the Bat's radar. The scientists they had hired had finally succeeded with one of their test subjects and Castor was going to check out the results.

The young man forced his attention back to the people below. He could hear sirens in the distant and groaned as he realised that he still needed something from his father. He pursed his lips and took out a smoke pellet filled with knock-out gas. If the bats and the team hadn't been so distracted, they probably would have been able to spot him, but they had two injured birds and a hopefully dead wanna-be father of the year, so Castor stood up to get a better aim and threw the smoke pellet on the street below.

He smirked as he saw how the heroes went down one by one. A snort escaped his lips as he heard Artemis groan out, "Not again." Castor jumped down the building, a fall that could have easily killed him, but he landed in a perfect roll and put on his gas mask. Then he slowly walked through the mess of limps on the ground until he reached his father. "How I'd love to let you bleed out on the streets like the rat you are." He shook his head and his blue hair was illuminated by the pale light of the street lamp that desperately tried to shine through the still thick fog. Castor grabbed his father roughly and slung him over his shoulder, smirking at the pained moan that escaped his lips. "You deserve this." His voice was muffled from the mask and dripping with malicious joy. Then he vanished into the night.

The first one who regained consciousness was Batman, which wasn't much of a surprise, considering that this wasn't the first time someone used knock-out gas on him. He groaned and grabbed his throbbing head. "What the hell," he muttered as he looked around and saw that the only person missing was the Joker. "Great." He blinked to shake off the dizziness. "Sir, are you all right?" He turned around to see a concerned looking nurse looming over him, her hand stretched out as if she'd tried to touch his shoulder, but decided against it. Batman nodded and pointed to his right. "Help Robin and Red Hood. The rest of us were just knocked out. Don't worry." He tried to keep his emotions out of his stoic voice as he looked at the battered bodies of his sons.

Dick was sure that he was dead. There was this annoying beep, beep, beep and he felt numb. Was this how Jason felt?

His eyes shot open as he thought about his little brother. "Jason!" He bit his lip hard to stop a pained moan as fire shot up his throat. Ouch. "Hey, easy. Jason's fine." He looked up and saw Damian and Tim sitting next to his... bed? "Where..." He coughed and it felt as if shards of glass were being dragged down his throat. Tears sprung into his eyes and Damian quickly gave him a glass of water. "Drink, Grayson." Dick smiled thankfully at him and gulped down the soothing liquid.

After a second of silence, he asked, "Where am I?"

"'Cave. You were out for two weeks. The first three days, you were in the hospital, but Batman insisted to take you and Jason down here." Dick nodded slowly. "Jason, how... how is he?"

Damian shrugged. "Fine, I guess. Bruce is with him at the moment." He sighed. "I feel sorry for father. He had to break his code. This must be hard for him."

Dick frowned in confusion until he finally understood what Damian was saying. "Oh God," he whispered, hugging his knees to his chest. He... He had killed the Joker and Batman took the blame. Now everyone thought Batman was the killer. Why aren't I dead, too? he thought. I should be. He started to hypervebtilate as the weight of the situation finally sank into him. He had killed. He had violated Batman's one rule. Don't kill. He gripped his hair and wimphered at the pain, but he didn't stop. He deserved it. He pulled harder. What would Batman do now? Banish him? He could hear he muffled yells of his brothers as his breath started to come out in short gasps. With an agonized scream, he lost conscious once again.

Jason felt at ease. No pain and he defenitifly wasn't dead, he knew how that felt. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced around. He was in his room in Wayne Manor. He frowned. How much drugs did Bruce pump into him that he didn't feel any pain at all? His mind was foggy, probably a side-effect of whatever was in his bloodstream. He wasn't able to fully clear his sight, so he didn't notice Bruce until he cleared his throat. "You're awake."

Jason courses himself as he flinched slightly. "Tur' the dwuws off," he slurred. Without a sound, Bruce stood up and decreased the dosage of whatever drug he was using on Jason. With each passing second, Jason was able to think clearer, but the pain returned, too and Jason closed his eyes for a brief moment, embracing the burning in his chest. Then he turned his attention back to Bruce, who sat in a chair next to Jason's bed.

"How do you feel?"

Anger bubbled up inside of Jason. "What do you care?" He spat, narrowing his eyes. Bruce would have let him die. Again. After Jason had finally started to trust his family again, Bruce just had to distroy everything. Bruce raised his eyebrows. "I guess you are angry."

"Angry? Angry?! You would have let me die! Again! You would have chosen the Joker over me and Dick! DICK! The golden boy, who does everything you tell him to do and now he had to kill because of you, because you were too weak to do it!"

Bruce visibly flinched and a strange satisfaction filled Jason. He wanted Bruce to feel the same pain he had felt. "You and Damian have killed, too and you are okay. Dick will get over it."

"GET OVER IT?! Do you listen to yourself?! Damian was raised by Ra's al Ghul and was trained to kill before he could walk and the Lazarus pit was messing with my head! And we weren't raised by you! Dick practically lived his whole life with the knowledge that there is only one golden rule. DON'T KILL!" He gasped for air, glaring at his father figure. "I just don't get it, Bruce," he whispered. "Why would you chose the Joker over us? This was different from the last time. I was already dead, but this time? You would have let him kill us?" He asked quietly, tears finally threatening to fall. He hated to admit it, but he had started to see Bruce as a father once again and now this. Why? Most people forgot that Jason was only fifteen and just a child, that he was scarred for life and was terrified of dying again. He was just a kid after all.

He looked at the tired eyes of Gotham's caped crusader. "Dick should have waited one more second."

"What?"

"I was about to pull the trigger, Jason, because I would've chosen you. I was ready to kill the Joker, but Dick beat me to it." Deep regret filled Bruce's eyes and Jason finally understood that Bruce was beating himself up for everything that had happened. "I'm sorry," mumbled Jason, looking down at his folded hands. He raised his head again as he felt a hand on his shoulder. "No, I should be the one apologizing. I... I should have never let you die in the first place." A small smile creeped upon Jason's features and he let Bruce embrace him in a kind of awekard hug. "If you tell the others about this, I'll kill you," threatened Jason, as he fell asleep in his father's arms.

A/N: So, what do you think? Who deos Castor wants revenge on (Do you say that??)


	20. Chapter 18

It took two weeks, one day, three hours, thirty minutes and eight seconds to convince Bruce to let Dick and Jason out of bed. They had been bored out of their mind and had finally recovered enough to move around the manor. Bruce still didn't allow them to go outside, much less on patrol, but at least they weren't bedridden anymore. It had been driving them crazy!

A knock on the door startled Dick awake. "Come in," he slurred, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He quickly threw a glance at the clock on his nightstand and groaned once he realised that he had slept in, again. The door opened and Damian appeared in the door frame. "Hey, Grayson. Can we talk?" Dick nodded and patted the empty space beside him. There was something in his baby brother's voice that was unnerving Dick; uncertainty. Damian was never uncertain, always self-confident, sometimes even too self confident for his own good- or the good of others. The young boy- sometimes Dick forgot that Damian was just ten years old- hopped onto the bed and sat cross-legged in front of his older brother. "I- uh..." He fidgeted with his hands and wouldn't meet Dick's eyes, his body tense. "Dami?" Dick was really starting to get worried now.

"While you were away, father offered- he said-"

"That you could be Robin?" Asked Dick softly, smiling at Damian reassuringly. So that's what this was all about. Damian didn't want to stop being Robin, but was afraid of Dick's reaction. "Hey, I'm not angry," laughed Dick, smiling and leaning back into the soft pillows. "I was expecting this to happen someday soon anyways." Damian seemed puzzled. "But I stole your identity... I was Robin only one time and it is already a part if me. You've been Robin for seven years now, how can you just give it up?" Dick just shrugged. "I am not giving anything up, I just kinda outgrew Robin, you know."

Damian looked up, hope sparkling in his ice blue eyes. "Father said something similar. That you wanted to be your own hero, out of Batman's shadow." Then he frowned and cocked his head to the side. Dick resisted the urge to coo. Damian just looked too adorable, but said boy would probably skewer him if he'd ever say that out loud, so Dick just chuckled lightly. "But don't you need a new hero persona then? I mean, you aren't going to quit the team, are you, not after they took Jason, Tim and I in." (Yes, the batbrothers are all part of the YJ now).

Dick quickly shook his head. "Of course not. I'll figure something out, don't worry, Robin." Damian smiled at him, a real, toothy smile. "Thanks, Grayson."

Dick sighed as he stared at the ceiling from where he was lying on his bed. It was somewhat after midnight and Bruce, Tim and Damian were on patrol, while Alfred and Jason were probably sound asleep. His eyes followed the lights that shone through his window whenever a car drove past the manor (which wasn't very often, considering that it was in the middle of the night). Since they were back, Dich had insisted on sleeping without closed curtains. It may sound childish, but he tried to avoid dark places. Dick sighed and ran a hand through his thick black hair.

It had never been like this before. Kidnappings had never really scared him, except for the first few times and when it had been the Joker. He was no stranger to pain and defenitifly no stranger to kidnappings either. Most of the time, his captors were after Richard Grayson, not Robin the Boy Wonder and expected the whole thing to end with a lot of money on their bank account (never really worked out well for them). When he was kidnapped during his night job, he was a bit jumpy all the time, but most villains were just using him as bait for Batman (which didn't work out well for them either) and didn't lay a hand on him (Well, he did get knocked out a lot, but that was about it). And then there was- had been the Joker.

Dick briefly closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Joker had always scared him, especially after what he'd done to Jason. In his first year as Robin, Batman was careful so he didn't meet the Joker and Robin never really understood what was so dangerous about him. He had never been afraid of clowns before, until his first encounter with the maniac... He shuddered at the thought. Not a pleasant memory.

And now the Joker was gone and Dick didn't knew how to feel about it. Guilty, because he had taken a life, even if it was the Joker's? Relieved, because he'd never have to be afraid of him again? Scared, because he didn't recognize himself anymore? He'd pulled that damn trigger without a second thought...

"Damn it," he muttered, sitting up and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed.

He knew he probably wouldn't get any sleep. Again. His nights had been restless since him and Jason had been rescued, the image of Joker's blood red smile burned into his brain, appearing behind his eyelids every time he closed them. He pushed himself off the soft mattress and made his way down to the living room. Maybe, if he'd watch something on TV, then time would pass more quickly and morning would finally come.

As he reached the living room, he heard voices and frowned. Who else was up at a time like this? It sure as hell couldn't be any burglars, they'd have triggered the alarm. He slowly opened the door and blinked as he realised that the voices were coming from the TV. "Jason?" His younger brother looked up. "What the fuck are you doing up at 3 am?"

"I could ask you the same question," countered Dick as he signed Jason to move and dropped on the couch next to him. "I couldn't sleep," admitted Jason, not taking his eyes off the TV, where he was watching some cooking show. "Me neither." Jason sighed and glanced briefly at Dick. "Are you ok?"

"I'm holding up."

"Don't lie to me, Dick. We've been through this together."

"...But You haven't killed anyone."

Jason was silent for a moment. "And you wouldn't have almost been killed for a second time."

They watched in silence as a Chinese man told the audience how to make spaghetti bolognese. It wasn't an awkward silence, but Jason felt the need to say something. "You saved my life."

"By taking another."

"It still counts, doesn't it?"

After a short period of thinking, Dick whispered, "I don't know what counts anymore, Jay. I wasn't trying to kill him, I swear, I really wasn't."

"Maybe not, and maybe you haven't. Whoever took him and knocked everyone out could have saved his life."

Dick didn't look convinced. "Maybe."

"Thanks," muttered Jason suddenly. The older boy raised a playful eyebrow. "Did you just thank me for saving your life?"

"Shut it, Grayson, or I'll shove that thanks down your ass."

Dick laughed quietly. "Some things never change." He smiled sadly at his younger brother. "How long do you think can we keep it a secret?" Jason shrugged. "You know that they wouldn't judge you. You didn't have a choice, Dick."

"But I don't want them to know."

"Then let's hope that no one slips up and that they don't figure it out by themselves. They have a thing for snooping around in others' business."

"Yeah, they do."

"Dick?"

The sixteen year old looked up from his homework. He had to catch up on a lot of school stuff, before he'd finally return to Gotham Academy in two weeks. "Yeah, Bruce?"

"Come with me."

Dick nodded and followed Bruce down to the Batcave. "What are we doing here?"

"You'll see," was all he got in response from his adopted father. Bruce had finally legally adopted him and that had been one of the best days in Dick's life. Then Bruce pointed at a showcase that was covered with a black cloth. "Take it off." Dick frowned, but walked up to the showcase anyway, pulling down the cloth with a jerk of his wrist.

He gasped at what he saw.

A suit. A black body suit with a matching domino mask. On the chest was an eye-catching blue bird, stretching its wings down over the shoulders to the elbows of the suit. "I thought you could use a new suit, Dick. Of course you are only allowed to wear it once you've fully recovered, but I thought you might want to see it."

Dick smiled, and placed his fingers on the glass. "It's perfect," he breathed, already falling in love with it. "And I have the perfect hero name." He could see Bruce raise his eyebrows in the reflection of the showcase. "That was fast." Dick smirked. "I have been thinking about this for a long time now, Bruce. The suit just triggered something inside of me, something that... I don't know how to put it."

Bruce smiled knowingly. "There is no word for it, Dick, but I know what you mean. I have the same feeling every time I see the Batman suit. It's like butterflies are going rampage in you stomach, isn't it?"

Dick laughed. "Not how I'd put it, but yeah, I guess you're right."

Bruce smiled. "So, what about your new name?"

"What do you think of the name 'Nightwing'?"

"We want to help," whined Duck, pouting at Bruce, who just raised his eyebrows unimpressed. "No."

"C'mon," tried Jason, crossing his arms in annoyance. "It's been three weeks, we can go out now."

"No."

"Urgh! It's hopeless!"

Tim snickered, already in his Red Robin costume. "Can we go now, Bats."

"Yes."

"No."

"You're being childish, Jason."

"Fuck you!"

"No thanks."

Damian wrinkled his nose. "Gross."

"You two can stay here and do some research. Lately, kids and teens from the age of six to eighteen have gone missing. The kidnappers didn't seem to make ant differences between rich and poor and no ransom demands have been made. They are not intending to give the kids back. Everything I've on the case is in the files on the Bat-computer. Just look for project W.I.N.G. We'll be back in the morning."

And with that, Batman, Red Robin and Robin left the Batcave. "This is your fault," pouted Dick, glaring slightly at Jason. "You were being too pessimistic."

"Say what now?"

A/N: One more chapter to go. The next one will be the epilogue.


	21. Sneak Peak

here is a little sneak peak.

(There'll be a 2 years jump)

Dick sighed in relieve as he flopped down on his bed. He closed his eyes for a moment and tried to relax his aching muscles. He was so tired. He threw a quick glance at the clock. Well, no wonder I'm tired, he thought, It's three am.

He was half asleep when his phone rang. Dick groaned annoyed and rubbed his eyes, taking his phone from the nightstand. Who the hell was calling him at three am?!

"Hello?" He asked groggily.

"Richard Grayson?" The voice was definitely male.

"Yes? Who's there?" Dick frowned. Why did the voice sound to strangely familiar?

"Don't you remember me?"

So Dick did know him! Just from where?

"I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Where would be the fun in telling you?" An unpleasant shudder ran down Dick's spine. The voice sounded... evil. Young, yet more grousome than most. Dick narrowed his eyes and thought about just ending the call, but the stranger stopped him.

"I know what you did, Grayson. I guess I should be thanking you, that way, I didn't have to do it myself."

Dick's heart tightened, and Dick didn't know why. His chest felt so heavy, just like...

"No..."

"Ah, so you've figured it out already." It sounded like he was pouting. "But I wanted to tell you! Now you spoiled my surprise."

"I don-"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about, Robin."

Dick jumped out of his bed, pressing the phone nearer to his ear, as if he'd misheard, but he knew he didn't. His heart was beating wildly and his hands shook. This was bad, really bad.

"How...?"

The guy chuckled and Dick had a feeling that, before this was over (whatever this was), he'd get involved into something he'd do anything to escape from.

"Oh dicky-bird." Dick flinched. Hearing his nickname said with such venom was something new. "I know you, know your every thought. You're scared, because I know something that you've tried to bury under smiles and laughs. You're angry, but not at me, at yourself, for being so weak." He spit the lat word and Dick flinched again. Not because of the harsh words, but because it was all true. Whoever was on the other end of that call really knew him and knew how to get under his skin, how to torture him, just through words.

"Does your family know? Do they know that they have a murderer amongst them?" There was a short pause. "Well, two of your dear siblings are already killers, aren't I right. The youngest, the Demon Brat, and the Hood, your Little Wing."

Dick ran a panicked hand through his hair. How did he know how Dick called them? Their identities; one thing. But personal stuff like that...

"Are you feeling me breathing down your neck? Down your families neck?"

Dick sapped. "Just tell me what the hell you want!"

He could hear satisfied laughter. "So now your losing your temper. I just have to mention your family and you snap. Interesting."

Dick knew that he was just mocking him and that he shouldn't let it get to him, but his breaths were becoming shorter and shorter until he was nearly panting. He was having a freaking panic attack and a pretty bad one, too.

"Leave my family alone." Despite his racing heart, his voice sounded dangerously calm. Like the clam before the storm.

"Like you left mine alone?"

"What?"

"Two years ago, you killed my father."

And then it all klicked. Joker's missing body, how someone could know their real identities, why the voice sounded so familiar...

"You're Joker's son."

"Finally. And I thought you were the smart one."

Dick closed his eyes.

"You want revenge."

"No, I don't. My father was a disease. I want justice. An eye for an eye... a father for a father."

For a second, Dick forgot to breath. "You won't be able to touch him. No matter how good you are, he's better." But even in his own ears, he didn't sound very convincingly.

"Oh, I know. But my partner already beat him once and he'll do it again. And lucky for you, he still has unfinished business with you." Dick's heart missed one beat as he closed his eyes in realisation. He was inferior.

"What do I need to do for you to stay away from him."

"Not just him. I'm pretty sure a few people in Gotham would pay millions to hear the Batman's and his little club of sidekicks' identities. Don't you agree?"

Dick leaned his back against the wall and let a silent tear drop down his chin. He despised blackmail.

"Why me? Why not anyone else?"

"Because I'm not interested in the anyone else."

Of course not. It was always him. The first Robin, the first sidekick.

"Just tell me what to do."

"Given up so quickly? A shame, tormenting you is so much fun."

Dick didn't response. He knew that he wouldn't get out of this. He took a deep breath. Dick hated begging, but he'd do it for his family.

"Please, just tell me what you want from me. I'll do anything if you leave them alone."

"Did I scare you so much you actually started begging? This worked out better than I imagined." He could practically feel the gleeful grin.

"You can't do anything. Just wait until we make our next move. My partner is dying to see you again, and honestly, so am I.

I want you to jump at every sound, thinking that it could be me, ready to take you or one of your siblings. I want you to live in constant fear of losing everything you've worked so hard for. I want you to live in pain until I come and get you. Because then, you'll be mine and no one will be able to save you, not even the bats. Oh, and I suggest you keep this conversation to yourself. I already proved that I have intel on your personal life, and you don't want me to let all Gotham know who their heroes really are, do you?"

"Y-you can't-"

"I can. Until then, I suggest you start saying your goodbyes. I will keep my eyes open for a little yellow-caped bird."

"But I'm not-"

But the phone call had already ended.

"Robin anymore," finished Dick his sentence in a whisper. So many things didn't make any sense. The man had said that he's anxious to see him again, but Dick had never met the Joker's son. And his voice, first, he thought that it sounded so familiar because of his familiarity with the Joker, but there was something else. He had heard that voice before, which should be impossible, but he was sure of it. He already knew his new blackmailer. And now he was targeting Damian, too, because he didn't know that Dick left behind the mantle of Robin.

How could things go wrong so fast? One mistake and his whole world comes crumbling down upon him, burying him under tons of lies, blackmail and pain.


	22. Sequel

The sequel is out! It's called 'Project W.I.N.G.' Please check it out.

I also wanted to thank you all for reading this and hope you'll like the second book, too.


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